A shipping vessel has come under fire from multiple small boats off the coast of Yemen on Sunday July 6, according to the UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.

The attack hapened at 51 nauutical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, and is reportedly ongoing.

Several boats opened fire at the vessel with small arms and rocket propelled grenades.

The armed security team on board the targeted vessel returned immdiate fire.

Authorities are investigating and other ships are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

Yemen's Houthi rebels are well-known for carrying out numerous attacks on commercial shipping in the region.

The unrelenting targeting of Western ships forcd both the UK and US to take military action in recent months.

At the end of April, British and American fighter jets carrid out surgical strikes near Sanaa, Yemen's capital.

The jets attacked builldings that had been identified by British intelligence as drone manufacturing sites.

The Houthi rebels have often used UAVS ito attack commercial shipping and inflcit as much disruption as possible to world trade.

In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered the military to wage “decisive and powerful” strikes on the Houthis so long as they continue targeting shipping in the Red Sea.

Since then, the Pentagon says strikes have hit more than 1,000 targets across Yemen, “killing Houthi fighters and leaders … and degrading their capabilities”.

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