DUBAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A Liberia-flagged container ship sustained damage from an "aerial attack" as it was sailing through the Bab al-Mandab strait, causing a fire on deck and a container to fall overboard, the British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Friday.
Ambrey reported the vessel was owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG (HLAG.DE) and had been sailing south through the Bab al-Mandab strait in the southern Red Sea when it was attacked by a projectile 50 nautical miles north of the Yemeni Red Sea port of Mokha.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in Red Sea shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza over two months ago, in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians.
In a separate report on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of a small craft with 10 people aboard declaring themselves to be Yemeni authorities ordering a vessel to alter course towards Yemen in the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab, 50 nautical miles north of Mokha.