COPENHAGEN, July 9 (Reuters) - Maersk said on Tuesday its vessel Maersk Sentosa had reported being targeted by a flying object in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Aden in the early morning hours of July 9.

A spokesperson for the Danish shipping group told Reuters it was not immediately clear if the vessel was the same as the one that reported an explosion close to the vessel some 180 nautical miles (333 kilometers) east of Yemen's Nishtun on Tuesday.

Maersk Sentosa operates under U.S flag.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)