The Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen confirmed on Monday that they seized a "military" ship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Red Sea off the Yemeni port.

"The UAE ship carries military equipment and entered the Yemeni regional waters without permission," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a brief statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

The spokesperson warned the Saudi-led Arab coalition against "any foolish act as the ship's crew members from different nationalities are still inside it."

It came after Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported an Emirati-flagged cargo vessel named Rawabi was pirated and kidnapped at 23:57 (2057 GMT) Sunday by the Houthi militia while off Hodeidah province.

It said the vessel carries medical equipment and was sailing from the Yemeni island of Socotra, where a hospital donated by Saudi Arabia is being built, to the Saudi port of Jazan.

"The militia must promptly release the ship, or the coalition forces will undertake all necessary measures and procedures to handle this violation, including the use of force if necessary," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said. 

The Houthis' move came a few days after the Yemeni government army backed by the coalition countries of Saudi Arabia and the UAE recaptured strategic areas in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib in central Yemen.  

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said late on Sunday it had received reports of an attack on a vessel near Yemen's port of Ras Isa, which lies slightly north of Hodeidah, and an investigation was under way.

It was not immediately clear if it was the same attack.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile.

But the Iran-backed Houthi rebels made substantial advances on the battlefield in September 2021, capturing Bayhan and other key areas in Shabwa.

(With input from agencies)