Bulk Carrier Attacked Off Yemen's Red Sea Coast, UKMTO Says

bulk carrier attacked

An armed skiff attacked a bulk carrier off Yemen’s Red Sea coast on Sunday, the latest in a series of assaults against commercial shipping in the region.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said the vessel issued a distress alert stating it was under attack by unidentified armed attackers. The agency said the incident was around 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, a port city controlled by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.

A small boat approached the carrier and opened fire, UKMTO said. The ship’s security team shot back, and the skiff withdrew to a larger craft approximately 2 nautical miles away. The larger vessel had turned off its Automatic Identification System, or AIS, the transponder used by merchant ships to broadcast their position.

AIS is often turned off to avoid being identified at sea. The carrier and its crew were reported to be safe. UKMTO said authorities had opened an investigation into the incident but gave no further details on the attackers, the vessel’s identity and flag or any damage sustained.

No group has said it was behind the attack. The Houthis had not attacked any merchant shipping in the months leading up to that, but have repeatedly warned in recent months that they could restart strikes on merchant shipping. The identity and motive of the attackers was not immediately known and a spokesman for the movement did not immediately return a request for comment.

The incident comes amid a precarious ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, ending almost four months of conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a 60-day period of negotiations towards a permanent settlement.

UKMTO advised vessels transiting in the area to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity. Days earlier, on July 1, the agency had reported a separate incident in which suspected pirates had caused minor damage to a ship’s bridge near Balhaf, further along the Yemeni coast. But it is unclear if Sunday’s attackers were pirates, Houthi-linked fighters or some other armed group. That uncertainty is likely to keep shipowners and insurers worried as Red Sea traffic struggles to get back to normal.

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