U.S. ships are returning to the Red Sea following promises from Yemen’s Houthi rebels to abstain from attacks on American and British vessels. The pledge, which comes after more than a year of

British and American ships are tentatively returning to the Red Sea after Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to hold off attacks on vessels linked to both nations, a sign that traffic on one of the world’s main trade routes could normalize after more than a year of disruption.

Shipping companies expressed caution about using the shorter route between Asia and Europe that many ships have avoided for more than a year.

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 Yemeni rebel group says it will stop targeting vessels that transit the Red Sea.

The ship was drifting and ablaze some 225 kilometers off the coast of Hodeida, a port city in Yemen held by the country's Houthi rebels