Captain Says Vessel Attacked with RPGs Near Yemen

The captain of the Delta Blue crude oil tanker reported an attack from two small craft 45 nautical miles south of Yemen's Mokha, with a rocket-propelled grenade exploding near the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Thursday.

Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The Liberia-flagged Delta Blue and its crew are safe, and the ship is proceeding to its next port of call, UKMTO said.

Athens-based Delta Tankers manages the vessel, according to LSEG data. The company was not immediately available for comment.

The two small boats, white and black in colour, each had four people on board who were reported to be wearing what the agency said were white and yellow raincoats.

The Houthi attacks have drawn U.S. and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

(Reuters - Reporting by Enas Alashray, Yomna Ehab and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)