The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) cautioned ships traveling in the Red Sea on Monday to exercise caution after reports of an explosion 71 nautical miles southwest of Saleef in Yemen’s Hodeidah province, which is held by the Houthi rebels.
“The master reported the sound of an explosion in the vicinity of the vessel. Vessels are reported safe. Coalition Forces are investigating,” UKMTO, which tracks down ship attacks, said in a statement.
Ambrey, another UK maritime organization that issues warnings about ship assaults, reported receiving information about a missile explosion in Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
Until Monday afternoon, the Houthis had not claimed credit for fresh strikes on ships in the Red Sea, although they often issue comments hours after each attack.
At the same time, UN Yemen Envoy Hans Grundberg urged Yemeni parties on Monday to strive toward peace in Yemen during Ramadan, as UN-brokered talks to end the war in Yemen have been virtually stalled since the Houthis initiated assaults on ships.
“Despite gaining assurances from Yemeni parties to back his plan to end the conflict, the UN Yemen envoy recently informed the Yemeni government that his peace efforts had been broken by the Houthi Red Sea raids as well as the US classification of the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
In the meantime , the US Central Command said on Tuesday that Houthi rebels fired missiles at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea but did not hit the vessel.
Two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at the Pinocchio from Yemeni territory, CENTCOM said, resulting in no damage or injuries.
Houthi rebels military spokesperson said earlier on Tuesday the rebels had targeted and hit the ship, which he described as “American.”
The Pinocchio is a Liberian-flagged container ship owned by Singapore-registered company OM-MAR 5 INC, according to shipping databases operated by Equasis and the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and redesignated the militia as a terrorist group.
Airstrikes attributed to a US-British coalition hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen on Monday, killing at least 11 people and injuring 14, a spokesperson for Yemen’s internationally recognized government told Reuters.
CENTCOM said it conducted six self-defense strikes on Monday in Houthi controlled areas of Yemen. The strikes destroyed an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles — which CENTCOM said presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region.