A cargo vessel reported being approached by a small craft carrying six armed people about 88 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Balhaf on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
There was an exchange of fire between the small craft and the vessel's armed security team, and the craft then turned away, UKMTO added.
On Monday, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said that they would ban Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea.
The military spokesperson for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, announced that a ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea is now in effect, and that any Israeli target will be attacked. He further warned that "escalation will be met with escalation, and our operations will intensify in accordance with developments."
The statement, which came after rocket attacks from the region, took credit for strikes on central Israel, with Saree saying that "under the principle of the 'Unity of the Fronts' and in response to Israeli aggression against Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza, our forces launched a missile barrage at sensitive targets in 'occupied Jaffa'."
Earlier on Monday, the Houthis fired rockets at central Israel. No injuries were reported.
Fire erupts on tanker off Oman, two crewmembers missing
Two crew members were missing on Wednesday after a fire started in the engine room of a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Sohar, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said, according to Reuters.
UKMTO reported one casualty without providing further details and did not report the cause of the fire.
Reuters contributed to this report.