London, Aug. 24 -- A tanker caught fire after being hit by an unidentified projectile off the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia on Monday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The incident took place about 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, one of Saudi Arabia's key oil ports on the Red Sea.

The UKMTO, a British maritime security agency, said the vessel's crew were safe and accounted for, with no reports of an environmental impact.

The port has assumed heightened strategic importance as vessels look for alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing disruptions in that maritime passage.

Security concerns surrounding shipping corridors in the Red Sea have also intensified. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi gr...