UKMTO says it received report of incident north-west of Yemen Hudaydah

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said, on Thursday, it has received a report of an explosion near a vessel 82 nautical miles north-west of Yemen’s Hudaydah, the latest reported attack on shipping in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.

The captain of a merchant vessel reported an explosion in close proximity to the vessel, but no damage was reported and all crew were safe, UKMTO said in an updated advisory note.

“The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” UKMTO added.

Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November.

This has forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israel-Palestine war could spread and destabilise the Middle East.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and are aligned with Iran, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

READ: Houthis publish ‘confessions’ of US, Israel spy network