UK Maritime Authority: Ship reports explosion causing damage south of Aden, Yemen

The UK Trade Operations said on Thursday that a ship reported an explosion near it, causing minor damage but no injuries to the crew, 57 nautical miles south of the Yemeni city of Aden.

"UKMTO received a report of an incident 57 nautical miles south of Aden, Yemen," the authority said in an update on its X platform on Thursday.

She added: "The captain reported two explosions in the water close to the ship, and the captain later reported a third explosion close to the ship, but no damage was reported."

She added, "The captain reported two other explosions near the ship, but no damage was reported."

The update indicated that "the captain reported that the ship was exposed to an explosion in the vicinity of an unmanned boat, causing minor damage. The ship and its crew were reported safe and proceeding to the next port of call."

The authority confirmed that the authorities are investigating the incident, calling on ships to sail with caution and report any suspicious activity to the UK Maritime Operations Authority.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations announced  that a commercial ship 77 miles west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on the Red Sea was hit by three shells  of unknown origin.

Regarding the incident, the British Army announced that "a commercial ship in the Red Sea was subjected to repeated attacks today, Wednesday, causing its crew to lose control of it."

There was no immediate comment from the Yemeni Houthi movement, which has been launching naval attacks since last November, saying they target ships linked to Israel, the United States and Britain, in support of Palestinian factions in confronting the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

On October 10, Ansar Allah announced that it would support Palestinian factions in confronting the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip  with missile and air attacks and “other military options”  if the United States intervened militarily directly in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Strip.