British warship the HMS Diamond has repelled a drone attack from Yemen's Houthi group in the Red Sea, British officials said.

"Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

"These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea."

The Iran-backed Houthi movement began launching waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels on November 19 in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Israel launched its offensive after Hamas, another Iran-backed group, invaded Israel, killing 1,400 mostly civilians and taking hundreds of hostages.

On Friday, Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack that set a British oil tanker on fire in the Gulf of Aden. Shipping data suggests the Marlin Luanda was heading towards Singapore under the flag of the Marshall Islands. It was hit by a missile 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden in Yemen, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations.

Reports suggest the tanker is carrying Russian naphtha. This fully contradicts Houthi claims that they target vessels bound for Israel of linked to Israeli interests.

Earlier Friday, the Houthis had fired an anti-ship missile toward USS Carney. That missile was successfully shot down, according to the US Central Command.

The attacks come amid reports that China has called on Iran to rein in the Houthis.

US and British warplanes, ships and submarines have responded to the Houthi attacks on shipping with dozens of retaliatory strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces.