UKMTO says it received a report of exchange of fire off Yemen's Aden port

Feb 17 (Reuters) - A UK maritime agency said on Tuesday that it received a report of an exchange of fire involving a vessel and a small boat around 70 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Aden.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said that a vesselwas approached and hailed by a white skiff with five people on board, and this was followed by an exchange of small arms fire.

Two additional skiffs were also reported in the vicinity, and authorities were investigating, according to UKMTO.

Yemen's Houthi militants have launched numerous attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza. But the attacks have halted since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was brokered in October.

Some shipping companies remain wary of resuming voyages through those waters, however.

The attacks have disrupted trade flows through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

Somali pirate gangs, who often used small, fast open boats known as skiffs, were once active in the area.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam, Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Alex Richardson)