ADEN, Jun 19 (NNN-SABA) – A merchant vessel, struck by the Yemeni Houthis days ago, has sunk in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a facility of the British navy for handling international shipping emergencies, reported yesterday.
The Greek-owned bulk carrier, “Tutor,” was hit twice on Jun 12, approximately 66 nautical miles south-west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the Yemeni government Coast Guard officials said, shortly after the strikes.
Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, claimed that, the group targeted the ship with “an unmanned boat, several drones, and ballistic missiles,” causing severe damage and putting the vessel “at risk of sinking.”
Sarea justified the attack by accusing the cargo ship’s owner of violating a Houthi ban on entering Israeli ports.
The Coast Guard officials said, an unmanned boat detonated at the stern, causing a big leak in the vessel’s hull. An official added that, the vessel made a distress call shortly after the first attack.
Despite search efforts, a missing member among the 21 multinational crew had not been located, the officials said.
Following the incident, the UKMTO said, in an update on Jun 15, that, the crew of the vessel had been evacuated by military authorities, and the vessel had been abandoned, adrift on the water.
Since last Nov, the Houthis have been conducting military operations in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, targeting ships they claim are Israel-linked or bound for Israel.
The group, which controls much of northern Yemen and the crucial Hodeidah port, has launched attacks against commercial shipping using numerous booby-trapped boats, missiles, and drones.
The Houthi attacks took place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Hamas and the Zionist army in the Gaza Strip, which has been raging for more than eight months.
In response to the Houthi strikes, the United States and Britain initiated a military operation in Jan, conducting air and missile strikes against Houthi targets within Yemen, to deter the group.
However, the Houthis, in retaliation, subsequently expanded the scope of their targeting to include U.S. and British commercial and military vessels.– NNN-SABA
