CAIRO (Reuters) – Britain’s marine security agency on Saturday reported a small explosion near a vessel 170 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Aden, an area where Houthi militants have been targeting commercial ships in solidarity with Palestinians.
UKMTO initially said the incident happened southwest of Aden.
“An armed security team observed a small explosion near the vessel,” the UKMTO advisory said, quoting the master of the MV Groton, who said there was no damage and all crew members were safe.
If the Houthis claim responsibility, the incident would be their first since Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike against the group in the port of Hodeidah.
International shipping in the region has been disrupted by Houthi attacks since November. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
(Reporting by Adam Makary and Enas Alashray, editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
