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A commercial ship was attacked in the Red Sea near Yemen’s southwestern coast. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) reported that on Sunday, at least eight small boats fired bullets and rocket-propelled grenades at the vessel. The ship’s armed security personnel responded with counterfire, and the exchange of gunfire is still ongoing. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is the first such incident in the region since mid-April this year. The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, fueled by the ongoing war in Gaza, a recent 12-day Iran-Israel conflict, and U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The UKMTO and Ambrey, another British maritime security agency, stated that the attack occurred 51 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The identity of the targeted ship has not been disclosed. Since November 2023, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have conducted over 100 maritime attacks, claiming these actions support Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis have sunk at least two ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, hijacked a Western vessel, and killed at least four sailors. These attacks have severely disrupted global maritime communication systems, forcing many companies to use alternative routes, increasing transportation costs. In response to the escalating Houthi attacks, the United States has intensified counterstrikes against the group. In May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a halt to airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, stating that the group had agreed to stop attacking critical maritime routes. The agreement stipulated that neither the U.S. nor the Houthis would target each other, including in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. Oman confirmed this deal in a statement at the time. However, in June, the Houthis threatened to target U.S. ships in the Red Sea if the U.S. participated in Israeli attacks on Iran. Following U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month, it remains unclear whether the Houthis will act on their threat.
