Ambrey reported the vessel was owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG and had been sailing south through the Bab al-Mandab strait in the southern Red Sea when it was attacked by a projectile 92km north of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the incident.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in Red Sea shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel since the start of the war in Gaza over two months ago, in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians.

In a separate report today, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of a small craft with 10 people aboard declaring themselves to be Yemeni authorities ordering a vessel to alter course towards Yemen in the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab, 92km north of Mokha.

In another report, UKMTO also said it had received a report that a vessel had been hit by an unknown object west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah resulting in a fire on board but no casualties.

It was not immediately clear if the reports were referring to the same incident.

The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, have vowed they will continue with their attacks until Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Late yesterday, the Houthis claimed to have carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone. The Danish shipping company denied the claim and said the vessel was not hit.