The Sanaa government in Yemen has submitted official letters to international maritime trade companies, in which the safety of navigation was ensured to the concerned parties, as long as they meet the protocols set by the Yemeni Armed Forces, Transport Minister Major General Abdul-Wahab al-Durra told Al Mayadeen in an interview.

The letter, which comes against the backdrop of the United States militarization of the Red Sea, has also requested that companies "not respond to warnings against passing through the Red Sea" issued by the US and its allies.

The letter reaffirmed to international trade companies the safety of navigation in the strategic body of water, as long as their vessels are not Israeli-owned or heading to Israeli-occupied ports in Palestine.

The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) have launched a naval campaign in support of the Palestinian people, aiming to end the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and lift the Israeli-imposed siege on Palestinians.

In this context, the YAF's Navy has launched missile and drone strikes on multiple merchant vessels heading to Israeli-occupied ports. More recently, following several US-UK-led strikes on the country, the YAF expanded the scope of confrontation and responded to these aggressions by attacking US-UK-owned merchant vessels and warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

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Yemen's storm waves target US-UK interests

The United Kingdom Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and maritime security firm reported an explosion near a merchant vessel off Yemen's port of Aden on Tuesday.

The UKMTO said it received a report of an incident 50 nautical miles off the coast of Aden, Yemen, at 11:00 am (UTC). The agency said in an update that it received a report of an explosion in close proximity to a merchant vessel.

On its part, the British maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed in a statement that a ship 53 NM off Aden was targeted, adding that the ship was a Marshal Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier heading from the US to India.

The Star Nasia was delivering US-extracted coal from the US to India, a maritime tracking company said, as reported by Reuters.

These reports come after the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Force, Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that the US-affiliated ship Star Nasia was targeted on Tuesday, while another British-owned ship, Morning Tide, was also hit with the appropriate anti-ship missiles.

The spokesperson stressed that the strikes were "direct and accurate."

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