Crew abandon HK-flagged container ship in Red Sea after fire, sources say

LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) - The crew of the Hong Kong-flagged ASL Bauhinia have abandoned the container ship in the Red Sea after it caught fire on Tuesday, two maritime sources said, adding the cause of the incident was not immediately clear.

The crew were rescued by another vessel and are safe, the sources said, adding that the incident took place in the open sea off Yemen.

The Shanghai-based manager of ASL Bauhinia, Asean Seas Line, was not immediately available for comment.

Earlier this month, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia said the group would limit their attacks on commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented.

Commercial ship owners, insurers and retailer remain cautious over the Houthis' announcement with current traffic through the Red Sea and Suez Canal dominated by Chinese and Russian linked vessels, which have been seen as lower risk.

Since the Houthis began attacks on shipping in sympathy with the Palestinians in Gaza, most vessels have diverted to the longer east-west route via the southern tip of Africa.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis; editing by Jason Neely)

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