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

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.

The Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen had earlier said they would scale back attacks given the cease-fire in the conflict in Gaza.

An official described the cargo aboard the ASL Bauhinia container ship as ‘dangerous’. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.