Iran attack: ship rammed by small boat in vital waterway

The ship later received VHF messages from an entity claiming to be local authorities.

The messages requested the captain to stop the ship to enable representatives of the purported authorities to board.

All crew are reported to be safe and well.

Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

The incident bore all the hallmarks of a bomb-boat attack, just without the explosives.

Meanwhile, in the Red Sea, UKMTO said “sustained kinetic activity” in the area since mid-March, plus reported strikes against targets at the port of Hodeidah, suggest an ongoing threat from collateral damage to third-party vessels.

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Vessels within 1km of the Yemen shore could well be at higher risk, the UK navy operation added.

All vessels were advised to exercise extreme caution in the vicinity of ports that have been subjected to strikes already.

At the start of May, Houthi forces stopped tankers and LPG carriers leaving a Yemeni fuel port two weeks after it was hit by US air strikes.

UKMTO received several reports from ships prevented from departing the oil terminal at Ras Isa.

This was despite having clearance by the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM).

Local authorities have reportedly demanded that vessels proceed to berths alongside from anchorage.

The US military had carried out an airstrike on the port while commercial ships were moored at the facility.

Central Command, which coordinates US forces in the region, said it carried out the attacks to cut off a supply of fuel and revenue for the Iran-backed militant group.