The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel carrying hospital equipment off the western Yemeni port of Hodeidah, the Saudi-led coalition said on Monday.
The Houthis' military spokesman confirmed the seizure of a cargo ship but said it was carrying military equipment and engaged in "hostile acts targeting the security and stability of the Yemeni people." The spokesman later added that the crew, "of different nationalities," were still on board.
The ship was heading to the Saudi port of Jizan, just north of Yemen, from the Yemeni Red Sea island of Socotra when it was attacked just before midnight on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, quoting coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki.
It was carrying equipment from a shuttered field hospital, when it was attacked, SPA said.
Samir Madani, co-founder of Tanker Trackers, tweeted that the affected ship seems to be the Emirati RWABEE. The vessel took a sudden right turn and its position tracking had been offline for over nine hours as of 8 a.m. Monday morning.
I’m guessing it’s this one (RWABEE) as she was heading towards Jizan, Saudi. Took a sudden right turn and has been offline from AIS for nearly 3h now. A small cargo vessel. https://t.co/jc1uXvRXUR pic.twitter.com/p7SdNTWdBl
— Sam (@Samir_Madani) January 3, 2022
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition that has been battling the Houthis for more than six years.
The alliance has accused the movement of attacking shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest maritime lanes leading to the Suez Canal.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said late on Sunday it had received reports of an attack on a vessel near Yemen's port of Ras Isa, which lies slightly north of Hodeidah, and an investigation was underway.
It was not immediately clear if it was the same attack.
In an advisory issued at 9:50 p.m. GMT, 12:50 a.m. local time, UKMTO - part of Britain's Royal Navy - advised mariners to exercise extreme caution in the area.
It put the vessel's position at approximately 23 nautical miles west of Ras Isa oil terminal in the Red Sea.
The last attack near Ras Isa was in late 2019 when the Houthis briefly seized a Saudi-flagged ship and two South Korean vessel.