Ship catches fire after coming under attack near Yemeni port

Sara Gharaibeh, Bloomberg News on Jul 6, 2025

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Multiple small vessels hit an unidentified ship in the Red Sea near Yemen’s Al Hudaydah port, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Sunday.

“The vessel has been struck by unknown projectiles resulting in a fire onboard. Situation is ongoing,” UKMTO said in an update on the attack. It earlier said the small vessels opened fire and launched self-propelled grenades at the ship.

An armed security team was returning fire some 51 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting ships in the strategic waterway for over a year.

The Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Israel launched a campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, disrupting global shipping routes. Those attacks have largely dried up since late 2024 as shippers routed vessels along other routes.

After an intense bombing campaign by the U.S. and Israel earlier this year, the Yemen-based militia reached a ceasefire agreement with Washington. But the group threatened to return to targeting U.S.-associated vessels in the Red Sea following the U.S. decision last month to join an offensive by Israel on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea caused the biggest disruption to global trade since the COVID-19 pandemic, subduing activity in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.

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(With assistance from Sherif Tarek.)

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