Explosion Occurs Near Commercial Ship East of Aden Port

The UK Maritime Trade Operations organization announced on Friday, June 21, that it received a report of an explosion near a commercial ship 126 nautical miles east of Aden province in Yemen. In a message on social media platform X, the organization stated that the crew of the ship was unharmed and the vessel is continuing on its route. Iranian-backed Houthi militants have carried out numerous drone and missile attacks on international shipping routes in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden since November of last year in response to the Gaza war. This has forced shipping companies to alter their routes, opting for a much longer and more expensive path around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks. Reuters reports that in over 70 attacks by Houthi militants on international shipping routes, at least two ships have sunk and a minimum of three sailors have been killed. The Iranian-backed Houthis have also seized the ship 'Galaxy Leader.' The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center, affiliated with the British Navy, announced on June 19 that a Greek commercial ship named 'Tutour,' which was targeted last week 66 miles from the port of Al Hudaydah, has sunk. The British ship 'Rubimar' was also hit by Houthi missiles on February 18 and ultimately sank completely on March 2. During the attack on the ship 'True Confidence' on March 7 of last year, three crew members, including two Filipinos and one Vietnamese, were killed. Leading groups in the shipping industry called for immediate action in the Red Sea to prevent further Houthi attacks on commercial vessels after the sinking of the second ship in Houthi assaults on Thursday, June 30. The largest global shipping associations stated in a joint statement: 'It is regrettable that innocent sailors are attacked while simply doing their jobs, vital tasks that keep the world warm and fed and clothe them.' Houthi attacks occur while the United States and the international coalition have a significant presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, actively countering these militants' assaults on a daily basis.