A petroleum-products tanker operated on behalf of Trafigura( a multinational trading company registered in UK) was struck by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden after transiting the Red Sea which was carrying Russian-origin naphtha – a light-end oil product primarily used to make plastics and petrochemicals..

The Iran-backed movement, based in Yemen, said it targeted the Marlin Luanda in response to “American-British aggression”.The US and UK have launched air strikes on Houthi targets in response to attacks on ships in the Red Sea region.

Trafigura said all crew were safe and that the fire in a cargo tank had been put out.

Houthi rebels have claimed they carried out the strike on the ship. The Islamist group, which controls a large part of Yemen, has been attacking vessels crossing the vital waterway between the Red Sea and the Suez Canal since the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict, in what it claims is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. Amid the attacks, many shipping companies have suspended travel in the region.

Last month, a US-led coalition deployed a naval taskforce to the area to safeguard shipping, and began striking Houthi targets in Yemen. In addition, the US and UK imposed sanctions against the group. The Houthis, in turn, started attacking ships linked with these countries.

In an interview with Russian news outlet Izvestia earlier this month, Houthi spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti pledged that the group would not attack vessels linked with Russia, but In a statement, a Houthi spokesperson claimed the Marlin Luanda was a British ship and was targeted in response to “American-British aggression against our country”.

The UK government said attacks on commercial shipping are “completely unacceptable” and that Britain and its allies “reserve the right to respond appropriately”.