7 months ago
37
CAIRO: A
vessel
in the
Red Sea
was struck by an unknown object and substained slight
damage
, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (
UKMTO
) agency said early on Saturday.
"The vessel and crew are safe and continuing to its next port of call," it said in an advisory note, adding that the incident occurred 76 nautical miles northwest of
Yemen
's Hodeidah.
No further details were immediately available.
The Houthi militia that controls the most populous parts of Yemen and is aligned with Iran has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months in solidarity with
Palestinians
fighting Israel in Gaza.
The Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November.
That has forced shippers to re-route cargo on longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and stoked fears the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the Middle East.
