Explosion reported near vessel off Yemen -UKMTO, Ambrey

An explosion was reported near a merchant vessel off Yemen's port of Aden on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security firm Ambrey said. A Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was targeted while heading through the Maritime Security Transit Corridor southbound about 53 nautical miles southwest of Aden, Ambrey reported.

An explosion was reported near a merchant vessel off Yemen's port of Aden on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security firm Ambrey said.

A Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was targeted while heading through the Maritime Security Transit Corridor southbound about 53 nautical miles southwest of Aden, Ambrey reported. The vessel was travelling from the U.S. to India. The vessel and crew are safe, both Ambrey and UKMTO reported.

Maritime monitoring service TankerTrackers.com identified the vessel reported by UKMTO as bulk carrier Star Nasia which was carrying U.S. coal. Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday that they fired missiles on two ships in the Red Sea, identifying the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Nasia as American.

The Greek-owned Star Nasia, managed by Star Bulk Carrier, was damaged by an explosion at 1115 GMT, a Greek shipping ministry official said, adding that its crew were not injured. It was unclear if the explosion was caused by a sea mine or a rocket, the official said.