Houthi rebels claimed on Friday to have struck a British-registered oil tanker with a missile, setting it on fire.
Naval forces of the Yemeni-based group attacked the tanker, the Marlin Luanda, in the Gulf of Aden, according to Yahya Saree, the Iran-backed group’s military spokesman.
“The strike was direct, and resulted (in) the burning of the vessel,” he added.
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an incident 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden on Friday.
It comes after an earlier incident in which two missiles were reported to have exploded in the water.
UKMTO said authorities had been informed and wwre responding to the latest strike, warning other vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea since November in protest against Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
‘Illegal and unacceptable’
They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, endangering shipping on a key route for global trade.
Alongside numerous air strikes on key Houthi targets, the UK and US are also targeting key figures in the Iran-backed militant group with sanctions.
A second series of UK and US air strikes carried out at the start of the week, appears to have done little to deter Houthi action.
Earlier on Friday, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: “We continue to call on (the Houthis) to step back from such action. We’re clear that this is illegal and unacceptable.”
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, is currently finishing a trip to the Middle East, in a diplomatic bid to reduce tensions as the Israeli offensive in Gaza continues.