UPDATE 2-Ship reports small arms fire off Eritrea, says Ambrey

A merchant vessel reported being approached with the use of small arms fire in waters 92 nautical miles northeast of Eritrea's Massawa port in Red Sea waters adjacent to Yemen's coast, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Thursday.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said shortly after that it received a sighting report of a small boat with armed persons onboard, operating in close proximity to a small coastal freighter, approximately 95 nautical miles northeast of Massawa. "It has been reported that the small craft self-identified as Eritrean Navy," UKMTO added in an updated advisory.

Authorities are investigating, UKMTO's advisory note added. The Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on ships they perceive as bound to or related to Israel or the United States, in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November to show their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

This has forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the Middle East.

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