A cargo vessel sailing in the southern Red Sea was struck by an unidentified projectile off Al-Makha in southwestern Yemen. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations office said there were injuries in the incident.
The office said the vessel was damaged but did not provide information on the number of injured people, the vessel’s name or its owner. An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the attack.
Vessels sailing in the area were urged to exercise caution and report suspicious activity. The Houthis had not issued a statement on the incident as of 12:40 UTC.
Claim of fatalities
A non-government television channel in Yemen claimed that the attack targeted a commercial vessel in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The channel said initial information indicated that three crew members had been killed, identifying them as two Pakistanis and one Indonesian.
The vessel’s identity and ownership were not disclosed.
Rising tensions in the Red Sea
Tensions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have increased since July 20. The Houthis announced that they would impose a naval blockade on vessels linked to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia said three days after the announcement that one of its vessels had been attacked. The following day, Riyadh carried out airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen’s western Hudaydah province, saying they were being used to threaten maritime transport.
Saudi Arabia formed a defensive naval coalition to protect maritime traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The coalition was reported to include the United States, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco, the Maldives, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Saudi Arabia has led the coalition supporting Yemen’s government since 2015. While Iran has been alleged to support the Houthis, the group has controlled some provinces and cities, including the capital Sana’a, since 2014.
