GENEVA, December 27. /TASS/. The crew of the MSC United VIII container ship, attacked by Houthi rebles from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement in the Red Sea on Tuesday, is now safe; no casualties were reported, the ship’s owner Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on its website on Wednesday.

"Currently, all crew are safe with no reported injuries and a thorough assessment of the vessel is being conducted," the statement says.

According to the company, the vessel was en route from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan. The ship " informed a nearby coalition task force warship of the attack and as instructed engaged in evasive maneuvers."

MSC informed that, protecting the lives and safety of its seafarers, it would continue to reroute vessels booked for Suez transit via the Cape of Good Hope.

Yemeni Houthi rebels launched anti-ship missiles at the United cargo ship, the movement’s spokesman Yahya Saria said on Tuesday. According to the spokesman, the Houthis attacked the ship after it ignored the demand to change course three times. Saria also said that the Houthis will continue to attack Israel-affiliated commercial ship, despite the establishment of the US-led international coalition for protection of the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

According to the Marine Traffic, the United carried the flag of Liberia. Last time, the ship transmitted its location at 16:12 (local time) on December 26. At that moment, the ship was in the southern part of the Red Sea not far from the Yemeni port of Hudaydah.

Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni Houthis said they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted. Since mid-November, several commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea have been attacked from the territory controlled by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement. Moreover, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader cargo ship with more than 20 crew members on board. The US authorities responded by announcing the establishment of an international coalition and preparing an operation to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. Included in the operation will be Bahrain, the UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain. An Ansar Allah spokesman told TASS that the creation of the coalition would not affect the decision of the Houthis to attack commercial ships associated with Israel.