A smartphone screen displays the MarineTraffic map showing a concentration of ship beacons in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with a map of the strait visible in the background, in Creteil, France, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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A cargo ship in the Red Sea reported being attacked, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centera British maritime security alert service, said on Sunday, amid a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
The agency said it received a report of the incident 30 nautical miles (56 km) southwest of the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen.
“A cargo ship has issued a distress alert indicating that it is under attack by unknown attackers,” the UKMTO said in a statement. job on X, adding that authorities are investigating the incident.
He urged ships to “transit with caution.”
Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked in Yemen commercial ships in the Red Sea from 2023 to 2025 in retaliation for the Israeli war in Gaza, but remained largely outside the US-Iran war.
While the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman is one of the world’s most important chokepoints for energy shipments from the Middle East, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Sea of Oman, is another key transit route.
It acted as a crucial safety valve for the oil market as exports through the Strait of Hormuz plunged due to Iranian attacks on tankers and cargo ships after the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran in February.
Saudi Arabia increased oil flows through its East-West pipeline after Hormuz closed, redirecting millions of barrels per day to the Red Sea. These barrels pass through Bab el-Mandeb to Asia, which has helped offset some of the loss of supply in key economies like Japan and South Korea.
The United States and Iran sign a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to end nearly four months of war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and set up 60 days of negotiations to reach a permanent peace agreement.
Since then, oil shipments have intensified. Saudi Arabia shipped around 34 million barrels oil via Hormuz since June 17, according to data from market intelligence company Kpler. Riyadh’s exports in the two weeks to July 2 were more than double the 15 million barrels shipped by the kingdom through the strait between March 9 and June 17.
Benchmark Brent crude oil prices have fallen 39% from their March highs.