An explosion struck a Hong Kong-flagged container ship Tuesday traveling north through the Red Sea, sparking a major fire that forced its crew to abandon the vessel, shipping industry officials said.

The Navy’s surface fleet has spent the past 15 months taking down hundreds of missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels at U.S. and allied Navies’ ships, as well as commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea.

SAN DIEGO— Sailors aboard the USS Stockdale were tapping threat data analysis from a local naval base hours before their destroyer came under attack by Houthis in the Red Sea—and it was a “game changer,” the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command said Thursday.

Supply chains have had to deal with higher shipping costs, product delivery delays, and increased carbon emissions as a result of this diversion. The Gaza ceasefire gave some hope that the disruption would finally end. But shipping lines will not hurry back to the region until long-term security is guaranteed.

British and American ships are tentatively returning to the Red Sea after Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to hold off attacks on vessels linked to both nations, a sign that traffic on one of the world’s main trade routes could normalize after more than a year of disruption.

U.S. ships are returning to the Red Sea following promises from Yemen’s Houthi rebels to abstain from attacks on American and British vessels. The pledge, which comes after more than a year of shipping traffic disruption on a major international trade route,

Shipping companies expressed caution about using the shorter route between Asia and Europe that many ships have avoided for more than a year.

Despite a ceasefire in Gaza and assurances from Yemen's Houthi rebels to scale back attacks on international vessels in the Red Sea, major shipping companies remain hesitant to resume using the Suez Canal due to ongoing security concerns.

Mandeb strait decreased by 50% after the Yemeni rebels launched maritime attacks, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

SAN DIEGO– The commander of Naval Surface Forces confirmed naval forces conducting combat operations in the Red Sea have used a feedback loop 55 times

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has released the crew of a cargo ship more than a year after its fighters hijacked the vessel in the Red Sea, as part of its campaign of attacks in support of Hamas in its war against Israel.

European forces joined the US Navy last year in an effort to defend key shipping lanes from Houthi rebel attacks.