UK security firm says vessel targeted near Yemen's Hodeidah

Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa.

 A protester carries a mock drone as demonstrators, predominantly Houthi supporters, rally to show support to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Sanaa, Yemen February 16, 2024.  (photo credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)
A protester carries a mock drone as demonstrators, predominantly Houthi supporters, rally to show support to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Sanaa, Yemen February 16, 2024.
(photo credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)

British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Saturday it had received information that a vessel had been targeted around 61 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah in Yemen.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident at almost the same point where the captain of a vessel reported two missiles in the vicinity of the ship that did not cause damage.

It was unclear whether Ambrey and UKMTO were reporting the same incident as they did not name any vessels in their updates.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have staged attacks on shipping in the Red Sea region for months in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.

One missile intercepted by coalition forces

One of the missile's mentioned in UKMTO's advisory note was intercepted by coalition forces defending commercial shipping in the region, it said. The second hit the water a distance from the vessel, it added.

 A satellite image shows the Belize-flagged and UK-owned cargo ship Rubymar, which was attacked by Yemen's Houthis, according to the US military's Central Command, before it sank, on the Red Sea, March 1, 2024. (credit: VIA REUTERS)
A satellite image shows the Belize-flagged and UK-owned cargo ship Rubymar, which was attacked by Yemen's Houthis, according to the US military's Central Command, before it sank, on the Red Sea, March 1, 2024. (credit: VIA REUTERS)

There was no damage to the vessel and the crew were reported safe, UKMTO said.

Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilize the wider Middle East.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping.