Explosion reported near merchant vessel off Yemen coast

ADEN, Yemen, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued a warning on Sunday after receiving a report of an explosion near a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

According to the UKMTO alert, the master of the unidentified merchant ship reported an explosion near the vessel approximately 85 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen.

While no damage to the vessel was reported,