Ambrey and UKMTO report incident west of Hodeidah in Yemen

CAIRO (Reuters) – British security company Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an incident in the Red Sea west of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah on Saturday.

The Iran-aligned Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen, has been attacking ships off the country’s coast for months, claiming it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Ambrey said it had received intelligence indicating missile activity 47 nautical miles west of Hodeidah. UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident near the same location.

UKMTO said authorities are launching an investigation.

The drone and missile attacks by Houthi fighters targeted the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

Since November, this has forced freight forwarders to reroute their freight onto longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Hatem Maher; Editing by Kevin Liffey)