The US military says the container ship was hit off the coast of Yemen but continued its journey.
Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked a U.S.-owned and operated container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen, U.S. Central Command said.
In a statement on Monday, the US military said no injuries or significant damage were reported and that the Marshall Islands-flagged Gibraltar Eagle was continuing its voyage after the incident in the Gulf of Aden.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said a ship was hit from above by a missile 95 nautical miles southeast of Aden, without identifying the ship.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said the Houthis reportedly launched three missiles, two of which missed the sea and the third hit the bulk carrier. He said the impact reportedly caused a fire in a hold, but the bulk carrier remained seaworthy with no injuries on board. The ship was assessed to be not affiliated with Israel.
The attack on the ship comes less than a day after the Houthis launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea, U.S. officials said.
The Houthis control western Yemen, including the strategically critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which flows into the Red Sea and reaches the Suez Canal.
Since Israel's war in Gaza began, they have been attacking ships in the area that they say are linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports.
They say they are attacking the ships to pressure Israel to stop its attack on Gaza and ease restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to its Palestinian population. Israel has been at war with Hamas, the group that rules Gaza, for more than three months.
US and British forces responded to Houthi attacks last week by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, has vowed revenge. On Thursday he said that “any attack on Yemen's Houthis by the United States will not go unanswered.”
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, D.C., said U.S. officials believe that after last week's attacks, the Houthis retained about three-quarters of their ability to fire missiles and launch drones.
“This recent attack on a US-owned cargo ship was apparently launched from the city of Hodeidah, which has been the target of US and UK attacks in recent days,” Hanna said.
“So the ante is being raised in terms of what's happening… the situation is very serious and it's something that U.S. intelligence is watching very closely.”
Omar Rahman, a member of the Middle East Global Affairs Council, said targeted attacks on Houthi installations would not reduce the group's ability or deter them from attacking ships in the Red Sea.
“What the United States and the United Kingdom are doing is not strategically justifiable. It is only justifiable if you look at what the Houthis are doing in the Red Sea regardless of what is happening in Gaza and the rest of the region,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The United States and the United Kingdom are ignoring the source of the crisis, which is the genocide in Gaza, but they are also allowing it,” Rahman said. “They are trying to avoid a broader regional escalation by taking military action against the flashpoints that are occurring as a result of what is happening in Gaza.”
