Minor damage to ship hit by projectile off Yemen's Hodeidah coast - UKMTO, Ambrey

CAIRO (Reuters) - A cargo ship in the Red Sea suffered minor damage after being hit by a projectile while sailing off the coast of Yemen's Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Tuesday.

The ship, located 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, said a projectile was fired at its port side and a small craft was seen on its port side. The projectile passed over the deck and caused slight damage to the bridge windows, the UKMTO note said.

UKMTO received the report just after midnight GMT Tuesday.

Ambrey said the Barbados-flagged, general cargo ship owned by a British company incurred physical damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while sailing south east through the Red Sea. No injuries were reported, the ship performed evasive manoeuvres and continued its journey, Ambrey said.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group have been targeting commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November, in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The attacks have disrupted global shipping and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and also stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.

There was no immediate comment in Houthi-run media on the incident.

The United States and Britain a month ago began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for the months of attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The U.S. military said its forces conducted a strike in self-defence on Monday afternoon Yemen time against two Houthi explosive uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) that it said presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Michael Perry)