A cargo vessel has been hit by an unidentified projectile off Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha in the Red Sea, with casualties reported, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
Authorities are investigating the incident. Vessels in the area are advised to sail with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, the agency said in an advisory note.
Reuters had reported three crew members were killed in an attack by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab Al Mandeb strait. It cited two Yemeni coastguard sources and two military officials in the government.
Maritime security sources told Reuters a small cargo ship was believed to have been targeted in the Red Sea but the fate of the crew was not known.
If the deaths are confirmed on the Tanzania-flagged Tihamah, they would be the first by a Houthi strike on a ship since the Iran war began in February and spread across the region.
The Houthis last month declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, in response to what they described as a Saudi siege. Riyadh denies having besieged Yemen.
The Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which Yemeni sources said killed two Pakistanis and one Indonesian on the boat sailing from Salalah in Oman via Djibouti.
Attacks on ships in the Bab Al Mandeb strait have increased uncertainty for shipping companies already hobbled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
An average of 32 vessels per day passed through Bab Al Mandeb last week, Kpler data showed. Before the blockade, the daily average was 50.
