Greek ship Tutor reportedly sunk a week after Houthi missile attack | Shipping news

The crew abandoned the coal carrier on June 12 after it was hit by Houthi rockets that sparked a fire.

The Greek-owned coal carrier Tutor has reportedly sunk in the Red Sea a week after the Yemeni Houthis attacked.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors and tracks commercial shipping for owners and the military in the important waterway, said in an update on Tuesday that debris and oil had been spotted in the area around the ship’s last known location.

“The vessel is believed to have sunk in position 14″19’N 041″14’E,” UKMTO said, advising other vessels to exercise caution in the area.

According to earlier reports from the UKMTO, the Houthis and other sources, the Tutor was hit by missiles and a remote-controlled boat loaded with explosives off the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on June 12, and subsequently took on water.

A crew member who was presumably in the engine room at the time of the attacks is still missing.

If confirmed, the Tutor would be the second ship sunk by the Houthis. The British-owned Rubymar, which was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer, sank on March 2, about two weeks after it was hit by Houthi missiles.

The Houthis, who have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition since ousting Yemen’s internationally recognized government from Sanaa in 2014, have been attacking ships with alleged links to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023. They say the action is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in light of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed at least 37,372 people.

Last week, the Houthis also seriously damaged the Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-controlled ship Verbena. The ship was loaded with wood and en route from Malaysia to Italy.

The Verbena’s crew abandoned ship when they were unable to contain the fire caused by the attacks. The ship is now drifting in the Gulf of Aden and is at risk of sinking or being attacked again.

Since November, the Houthis have also hijacked another ship and killed three merchant sailors in separate attacks.

The attacks have disrupted global trade as shipowners have had to divert their vessels from the Suez Canal to longer routes around the southern tip of Africa, adding up to 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 kilometers) to the journey.