Sanaa, Oct 1 (IANS): A missile attack hit and damaged a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The ship was damaged yet the crew is safe, the UKMTO said in an updated post on social media platform X.

The incident occurred 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, a city on the Red Sea coast under the control of Yemeni Houthi rebels.

Earlier in the day, the UKMTO reported that a sea drone attacked the ship and punctured its "number 6 port ballast tank" which is used for adjusting buoyancy.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has been targeting ships they claim are "Israeli-linked" in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response, the US-British coalition stationed in the region has been conducting regular raids and strikes on Houthi targets since January to deter the group.