Cash-strapped Sri Lanka's navy said Monday it was joining a US-led maritime taskforce to protect international shipping against attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

"We will be joining 'Operation Prosperity Guardian' led by the US Navy," naval spokesman Gayan Wickramasuriya said, with the deployment of a patrol vessel crewed by more than 100 people.

Huthi fighters have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks on targets in Israel and the Red Sea, disrupting traffic in the key shipping route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade.

The Iran-backed Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been battling Hamas militants since October 7.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that Houthi attacks had raised freight costs and were impacting exports of garments and tea.

The South Asian island nation is emerging from its worst economic crisis in 2022, when months of street protests led to the ouster of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The country defaulted on its $46 billion external debt and is now being supported by a $2.9 billion four-year bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Wickramasuriya said the move would add no additional cost as the vessel was already patrolling Sri Lanka's vast maritime boundary.

The US-led maritime force announced late last month includes Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and other nations.

Last month neighbouring India deployed several warships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden after a string of shipping attacks, including a drone strike near India's coast that the United States blamed on Iran.