Officials said the attack on a Greek-owned Barbados-flagged ship resulted in fatalities.
The Greek-owned cargo ship True Confidence was hit by a missile attack by the Houthis about 50 nautical miles (93 km) southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden.
The ship's owner and operator said the bulk carrier remained adrift after Wednesday's attack, with a fire still burning on board, and no information was available on the status of the 20 crew members and three armed guards. added.
However, shipping sources told Reuters that three sailors were missing from the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier and four others suffered severe burns.
Two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that there were deaths in the attack.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was no longer under the command of its crew and had been abandoned.
Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday they had targeted a cargo ship with a missile, causing a fire on board.
“This targeted operation was carried out after the ship's crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni navy,” Yahya Saleh, the militia's military spokesman, said in a televised address.
Houthi forces usually take several hours to acknowledge an attack, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Yemen's Houthi fighters, who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians and against Israel's war in Gaza, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles at international commercial ships since mid-November. .
Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute longer and more expensive shipments around southern Africa.
The True Confidence is owned by True Confidence Shipping, a Liberian-registered company, and operated by Greece-based Third January Maritime, the companies said in a joint statement. They said the ship had no ties to the United States.
But it was previously owned by Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based fund that finances ships in installments.
U.S.-led airstrikes against the Houthis have continued for more than a month and a half, but the group remains capable of launching large-scale attacks.
These include last month's attack on the Rubimar, a cargo ship loaded with fertilizer that sank on Saturday after being adrift for several days, and the downing of a U.S.-made drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
Tuesday's Houthi attack appears to have targeted the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Kearny, which is participating in a U.S. operation against the rebels.
The attack on Kearney included a bomb-laden drone and an anti-tank ballistic missile, according to US Central Command.
The United States then launched airstrikes, destroying three anti-ship missiles and three bomb-laden drone boats, according to the Central Command.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Salih confirmed the attack, but said the Houthi forces had targeted two US warships, without providing further details.
“The Houthis will not stop until the invasion stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” Salih said.