Explosion reported near merchant vessel off Yemen coast

Aden (Yemen), March 17 (IANS) The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued a warning on Sunday after receiving a report of an explosion near a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.According to the UKMTO alert, the master of the unidentified merchant ship reported an explosion near the vessel nearly 85 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.While no damage to the vessel was reported, and all crew members were said to be safe, the UKMTO cautioned that the incident was under investigation by relevant authorities.The UKMTO said that the merchant vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.No further details about the nature of the incident or any potential causes were provided.The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, is a strategic shipping route for international trade. However, the waters off Yemen have been considered a high-risk area due to the ongoing conflict between the Houthi group and the forces of the US and Britain in this strategic area.Since November last year, the Houthis have increasingly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which they claimed as retaliation for Israeli strikes in Gaza.In response, the US and Britain launched air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since mid-January. However, rather than deterring or degrading the rebels' capabilities, these strikes have prompted further escalation from the Houthi forces.The spiraling naval confrontation threatens to disrupt a major global shipping chokepoint, as millions of barrels of oil traverse the Bab el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden daily.--IANSint/khz

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