Ship badly flooded after Houthi attack

The US military said a Greek ship was hit in the Red Sea by an unmanned surface vessel launched by the Houthis in Yemen, causing severe flooding and damage to the engine room.

The Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) said it received reports on Wednesday of a ship being hit on the stern about 66 nautical miles southwest of the rebel-held port of Hodeida in Yemen.

The ship took on water and was not under the command of the crew, UKMTO said. No casualties were reported.

The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they used a sea drone to attack a Liberian-flagged ship called the Tutor.

To support the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis are attacking shipping in the Red Sea, thereby causing significant disruption to world trade.

In a statement, a Houthi military spokesman said the ship was attacked “with an unmanned surface boat, numerous drones and ballistic missiles.” He added that the ship was “severely damaged and could sink.”

The ship was targeted “because the shipping company that owns it violated the decision banning entry into the ports of occupied Palestine,” the statement said.

The US Central Command (CentCom) reported that “an Iran-backed Houthis unmanned surface vessel” attacked the Tutor, which was last anchored in Russia.

The impact “caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room,” X said.

CentCom added that its forces had “successfully destroyed” three anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen in the past 24 hours, as well as a drone launched from Houthi-controlled territory over the Red Sea in Yemen.

“This continued malicious and reckless behavior by the Iran-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” it said.

The armed Houthi group sees itself as part of an Iran-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US and the wider West and has declared its support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Since November, the rebel group has carried out attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on ships it says are linked to Israel, saying its actions are in support of the Palestinians.

In response, the US and UK carried out a series of attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen, after which the Houthi retaliated against ships they believed to be linked to those countries.

The rebel attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea prompted many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, which carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.

Separately, The UN has announced that the Houthis in Yemen have arrested two more of their employees.This brings the total number of people arrested by the group last week to 13.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that one of its staff members was among those arrested. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that he was “deeply concerned” about the situation.