Crew abandons ship attacked in southern Red Sea

The crew of an unidentified ship that was attacked off the coast of Yemen on July 6 was rescued by a passing merchant vessel, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said on X.

The crew abandoned ship after being engaged by "multiple small vessels who have opened fire with small arms and self-propelled grenades" at 51 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, in the southern Red Sea, UKMTO said. Unknown projectiles caused a fire onboard and then the ship began to take on water. The ship remains abandoned and is unlit, UKMTO said.

It was not clear who was behind the attack.

Yemen-based Houthi rebels have held off on attacks recently after targeting US, UK and Israel commercial ships in recent years in protest to the Israel-Hamas war and Israeli military operations elsewhere in the region since November 2023. The Houthis agreed to a ceasefire deal with Washington on May 6 to halt attacks on commercial shipping through the Red Sea, but warned June 21 that if the US joined Israel's fight against Iran, they would target US ships and US warships in the Red Sea.

The US subsequently launched strikes against Iranian nuclear targets, but Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire soon after.