UKMTO receives report of incident in northern Yemen

The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) said on Thursday it had received a report of an explosion near a vessel 82 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen, the latest reported attack on a vessel in the Red Sea.

UKMTO updated its alert to say that the captain of a merchant vessel reported a small explosion near his vessel. No damage was reported and all crew members were uninjured.

UKMTO said the ship was proceeding to its next port.

Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly used drones and missiles to attack ships in key shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

This has prompted shipping companies to reroute their cargo to longer and more expensive voyages around southern Africa. It has also fuelled fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could spill over into the Middle East and destabilise it.

The Iran-aligned Houthi militia, which controls most of Yemen, claims it is fighting in solidarity with the Palestinians. (Reporting and editing by Nayera Abadallah, Clauda Tanias, Yomna ehab and Enas Alashray)