Cargo ship attacked off Yemen in latest Red Sea shipping threat

A cargo ship came under attack about 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, the largest Houthi-controlled seaport on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, in a fresh warning that the waterway remains dangerous for commercial traffic. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center received the distress alert at about 0720 UTC, and the vessel and its crew were reported safe.

The attack unfolded when a skiff approached the bulk carrier and opened fire, according to the British military. Security guards on board returned fire, and the attacking boat then turned back toward a larger vessel roughly two nautical miles away with its automatic identification system switched off. No group immediately claimed responsibility, and authorities were still investigating.

The incident matters beyond the ship itself because the Red Sea remains one of the world’s most sensitive trade corridors. The narrow route links the Suez Canal to the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and shipping companies have already spent months recalculating routes after Houthi attacks on vessels passing near territory they control. Those strikes during the Gaza war pushed many carriers to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, adding sailing time, fuel use and insurance costs.

This latest attack also came as the broader maritime threat around Yemen showed signs of spreading beyond the Red Sea chokepoint. On July 1, a merchant vessel was attacked about 76 nautical miles south of Balhaf in the Gulf of Aden, causing minor damage to the bridge. Separate reporting said four armed men were in the small craft and that the attackers used an RPG. That episode underscored that the danger now includes both politically driven attacks and piracy-style violence farther from the Red Sea axis.

The pattern has direct consequences for freight markets and insurers. Even when a single assault does not cause casualties or major damage, each incident reinforces war-risk pricing, slows route decisions and complicates scheduling for cargoes moving between Asia, Europe and the Middle East. UKMTO advised ships to transit with caution as the investigation continued.

The wider security backdrop has not disappeared. The U.S. Maritime Administration says Houthi attacks sank two commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea on July 6-8, 2025, killing four seafarers. In July, the United Nations Security Council is also expected to consider renewing its monthly Houthi-attacks reporting requirement, first mandated on January 10, 2024 and most recently extended until July 15, 2026.