CAIRO (Reuters) -A ship came under attack in the Red Sea off the southwest coast of Yemen on Sunday from gunfire and self-propelled grenades launched from eight small boats, a British maritime agency and security firm said.

Crew members aboard a Liberian-flagged ship set ablaze by a series of attacks in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel Sunday night as it took on water, marking the first serious assault in the vital corridor for trade after a monthslong campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels there.