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.

Herminia, a powerful storm raging over western Europe, threw a cargo ship off course in Italy late on Tuesday and sent it crashing against a pier in a picturesque Tuscan sea resort. Thirteen seafarers safely evacuated the 10,000-dwt Guang Rong (built 2001), which grounded at Marina di Massa on the Ligurian coast.

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.

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

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