DUBAI, July 9 (Reuters) -

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they targeted the Maersk

Sentosa ship in the Arabian sea with several ballistic and wing

missiles.

"The American ship Maersk Sentosa was targeted in the

Arabian Sea by naval forces and missile force in a joint

operation," Yahya Sarea, the Yemeni group's military

spokesperson, said in a televised speech.

Earlier on Tuesday, shipping giant Maersk said one of

its vessels, the Maersk Sentosa, reported being targeted by a

flying object in the north of the Gulf of Aden.

Maersk told Reuters that no injuries to the

crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported.

A spokesperson for the Copenhagen-based company said the

ship was one of its U.S.-flagged vessels sailing for the

subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited.

The captain of an unnamed merchant ship reported an

explosion close to the vessel some 180 nautical miles (333 km)

east of Yemen's Nishtun, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade

Operations (UKMTO) said in an advisory note on Tuesday.

UKMTO added that the vessel and its crew are safe.

Sarea also said the group targeted the Marathopolis ship in

the Arabian Sea and the MSC Patnaree ship in the Gulf of Aden

with a number of drones.

Houthi militants in Yemen have launched drone and missile

attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and

Gulf of Aden since November. They say they are acting in

solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza.