Yemen's Houthi delegation boarded a UN ship on the Red Sea on Sunday in preparation to resume talks over management of the lifeline Hodeidah port city, the rebels said in a brief statement.

The rebels gave no more details, but they are scheduled to agree on a mechanism under the supervision of a cease-fire committee headed by the United Nations to implement a long-delayed deal they reached in Stockholm in December last year in order to avert deadly battle in Hodeidah.

Previous talks to implement the deal had failed after the rebels refused to withdraw their forces from the city.

The government forces have advanced to the southern outskirts of Hodeidah in preparation to recapture the port city.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition against Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen for more than four years in support of the internationally-recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.