Yemen's Houthis hijack UAE-flagged cargo vessel, coalition says

Houthi rebels have hijacked a UAE-flagged vessel off the coast of Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition said on Monday.

Brig Gen Turki Al Malki, spokesman of the coalition, said the cargo ship, the Rawabi, was hijacked on Sunday evening off the port city of Hodeidah.

He said the ship had been taking a Saudi field hospital from Yemen's Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean to Jazan in the south of the kingdom.

The cargo included ambulances, medical and communications equipment, tents, a field kitchen and laundry, as well as technical and security support equipment.

Brig Gen Al Malki urged the Houthis to release the ship immediately, warning that the coalition will take "all necessary measures to deal with this violation, including the use of force when necessary".

Late on Sunday night, the UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) − part of Britain's Royal Navy – said it had received reports of an attack on a vessel near Yemen's port of Ras Isa, just 50 kilometres north of Hodeidah, and that an investigation was under way.

It put the vessel's position at approximately 23 nautical miles west of Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea.

The UKMTO advised ships to exercise extreme caution in the area.

The last shipping incident near Ras Isa was in late 2019 when Houthi rebels briefly seized a Saudi-flagged ship and two South Korean vessels.
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Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition to restore the internationally recognised government of Yemen after a coup by the Houthis in 2014 sparked a bloody civil war. The situation in Yemen has been described by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Houthis have repeatedly taken aim at military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Bab Al Mandeb, drawing international condemnation. The US designated the rebels as terrorists early last year after a string of attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea.