Cargo ship comes under armed attack in Red Sea off Yemen coast
A cargo ship came under armed attack Sunday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) reported, marking the first such incident in the region since Houthi rebels paused their campaign of maritime strikes in early 2024. The bulk carrier issued a distress signal at 09:12 local time, stating it was “under attack by unknown armed assailants” approximately 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) south-west of the Houthi-controlled port city of al-Hudaydah, according to UKMTO’s advisory posted on X . A small fast craft approached the vessel, opened fire, and then returned to a larger mothership lying about two nautical miles away with its automatic identification system disabled, UKMTO said in a follow-up bulletin .
The ship’s security team returned fire, and the vessel and crew were reported safe, the British military agency said. No group has yet claimed responsibility, and Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree had not responded to requests for comment by late Sunday. The rebels, who control northern and western Yemen including al-Hudaydah, had threatened in May 2026 to resume attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Red Sea, but had not carried out any strikes since pausing operations in March 2024 after sustained international pressure .
Maritime authorities warned vessels to “transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO” . The incident occurred in one of the world’s most congested shipping lanes, the Bab al-Mandab corridor, where more than 12,000 vessels transit annually between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal. In 2023–24, Houthi drone and missile strikes on ships linked to Israel forced dozens of operators to reroute cargoes around southern Africa, adding up to two weeks and an estimated $1 million per voyage in additional costs .
Somali pirates, active farther east in the Gulf of Aden, have also intensified operations in recent weeks. On 1 July, four suspected pirates in a skiff damaged the bridge of a vessel 76 nautical miles south of Balhaf, Yemen, UKMTO reported . The overlapping threats have raised concerns among insurers and shipowners about a return to the high-risk environment that prevailed during the 2010s.
The attack comes amid renewed fighting in Yemen’s Red Sea governorates. Medical sources in Hodeidah reported that Houthi forces killed 16 pro-government troops and wounded 22 in clashes on Saturday, the deadliest confrontation in the area for years . The escalation underscores the fragility of the 2022 truce between the internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Houthis, which has largely held despite sporadic violations.
UKMTO and allied naval task forces are reviewing radar and AIS data to identify the attackers. The Royal Navy’s *HMS Lancaster*, currently deployed in the region as part of Operation Kipion, has been ordered to investigate the incident area, a UK defence source said . Shipping companies are expected to reroute vessels away from the Bab al-Mandab strait until authorities confirm the threat has passed.
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