UAE warship damaged in 'incident' off Yemen coast

A United Arab Emirates warship was damaged in a strategic Red Sea shipping lane off the coast of Yemen on Saturday but there were no injuries to its crew, the UAE military said.

Hundreds of Emirati soldiers in a Saudi-led coalition have been fighting Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis who control the capital and training Yemeni troops in the port of Aden to help rebuild a state loyal to exiled president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

"General Command of the Armed Forces said one of its leased vessels suffered an incident in the Bab al-Mandab strait this morning during a return trip from a mission in Aden. No injures were caused," UAE state news agency WAM said in a statement.

The armed forces are investigating the cause of the incident, it added.

The vessel, leased by the UAE Armed Forces, suffered an accident in the Bab Al Mandeb area of Yemen on Saturday morning, while returning from a routine voyage to the port of Aden, according to a statement issued by the Armed Forces General Command.

The statement further noted that the United Arab Emirates contributes to the implementation of a variety of charitable, development and reconstruction projects in Yemen, particularly in the areas of health, education, housing and utilities.

In a statement on Saturday the Houthis claimed responsibility for the incident.

In 2013, more than 3.4 million barrels of oil per day passed through the 20 km (12 mile) wide Bab al-Mandab, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition could not be immediately reached for comment.

A senior Emirati commander was among dozens killed in a Tochka rocket strike in 2015 on an army camp near Bab Al Mandab.

• UAE
• MENA