DUBAI – Gunmen on small boats fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms at a commercial vessel in the Red Sea off Yemen on July 6, monitors said, in the latest attack on the vital shipping lane.

The incident occurred 51 nautical miles south-west of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

“The vessel has been engaged by multiple small vessels who have opened fire with small arms and self-propelled grenades. (The) armed security team have returned fire and situation is ongoing,” said UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy.

UK-based security firm Ambrey reported the merchant vessel “was approached and attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea” before being attacked with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Hodeida is controlled by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, though no one has claimed responsibility for the assault.

The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

They broadened their campaign to target ships linked to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.

In May, the group

struck a ceasefire with the US

The rebels have attacked dozens of commercial vessels since launching their anti-shipping campaign and have prompted some freight companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a vital route that normally carries about 12 per cent of global t...