Image source, Getty Images
- author, George Wright
- role, BBC News
-
The U.S. military said a Greek-owned ship was hit in the Red Sea by an unmanned surface vessel launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, causing severe flooding and damage to its engine room.
The Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received reports on Wednesday that the vessel’s stern had been shot at while at sea about 66 nautical miles southwest of the rebel-held port of Hodeidah in Yemen.
UKMTO said the vessel was taking on water and was without its crew in command. No casualties were reported.
The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they used a maritime drone to target the Liberian-flagged vessel, the Tutar.
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea aiding Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, causing major disruption to global trade.
A Houthi military spokesman said in a statement that the ship had been attacked “using unmanned surface vessels, multiple drones and ballistic missiles,” adding that it had “suffered severe damage and is at risk of sinking.”
The statement said the ship was targeted “because the company which owns it violated a decision banning it from entering occupied Palestinian ports.”
US Central Command (CentCom) reported that “an Iranian-backed Houthi unmanned surface vessel (USV)” attacked the Tutar, which was recently docked in Russia.
X posted that the collision “caused significant flooding and damage to the engine bay.”
Central Command added that its forces had “successfully destroyed” three anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the past 24 hours, as well as a drone launched from Houthi-controlled territory over the Red Sea.
“The continued vicious and reckless actions of the Iranian-backed Houthis threaten regional stability and endanger the lives of sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the statement said.
The armed Houthis see themselves as part of an Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the United States and the West, and have voiced their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Rebels have been attacking ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, saying their actions are in support of the Palestinians.
The United States and Britain have retaliated by carrying out a series of attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen, with the Houthis retaliating against ships believed to be linked to the two countries.
Rebel attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have led many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, which carries about 12 percent of the world’s maritime trade.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said one of its staff members was among those detained. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday he was “deeply concerned” by the situation.
