UKMTO receives report of attack west of Yemen’s Mokha

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Saturday that it received a report an attack 15 nautical miles west of Yemen’s port of Mokha, where the Houthis that control much of Yemen have been attacking shipping lanes.

“The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities,” UKMTO added in an advisory note.

Houthi attacks have prompted shipping firms to divert vessels on to the longer, more expensive route around southern Africa.

They have also stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread, destabilizing the wider Middle East.

The United States and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden.