A mysterious explosion near a cargo ship occurred in the Gulf of Aden, raising questions within the shipping community. The crew of the ship Minervagracht is safe, while investigations into the causes continue.
A mystery is caused by the explosion that occurred near the Dutch cargo ship Minervagracht while it was sailing in the Gulf of Aden, 120 nautical miles east of the port city of Aden in Yemen.
The crew of the general cargo ship built in 2011 declared that a projectile fell 2 nautical miles away from them at 03:20 local time.
The ship had sailed from Newport on the US east coast, bound for Durban in South Africa. Its current destination is now Suez.
A report from the UKMTO stated that the ship and its crew members are safe and are heading to the next port.
The security company Vanguard stated that the ship is not connected to Israel in any way, making it unlikely to have been the target of a Houthi attack.
Houthi activities in the area stopped in September and there have been no UKMTO reports since September 4, 2025, since another ship reported that a missile fell near it in the sea, and also the serious electronic interference that occurred in the area.
On September 16, 2025, the UKMTO issued a warning to ships stating that they must remain vigilant in the area.
Despite the reduction of the threat level within the Gulf area, ships are reminded that there is a risk of collateral damage for ships visiting ports in the southern Red Sea.
All ships must exercise extreme caution near ports that have been attacked in the past and should carefully consider the risk of sailing in these areas.
