Sailors report on Houthi attack and rescue by the US Navy

The crew of the Tutor, a Greek bulk carrier sailing to India via the Red Sea, were on deck one sunny morning last week when they spotted what looked like a fishing boat in the distance with two people on board. The crew members thought it was nothing unusual, but moments later, according to the ship’s captain, they noticed a vessel speeding toward their ship.

The boat appeared to be remote-controlled — the fishermen they thought they saw were puppets — and crew members shouted “In! In!” as they ran for cover, according to a video one of them posted on Facebook. The boat collided with their ship and exploded, shattering the glass windows on their ship’s bridge and flooding the engine room with seawater and oil, the captain said.

“We were all scared,” said Captain Christian Domrique on Monday in Manila, where he and the crew members, all of whom are from the Philippines, were brought after the U.S. Navy airlifted them from the stricken ship. “It was the first time we had experienced this.”

It was one of the most dramatic episodes in the Red Sea in recent months. The Houthi militia in Yemen has increased its rocket and drone attacks on ships in what they say is a campaign to pressure Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

Twenty-one sailors, including the captain, were rescued by the Tutor; one crew member who was in the engine room at the time of the collision is still missing, according to Mr Domrique and Philippine government officials.

Mr Domrique, speaking on behalf of the crew members at a news conference organized by the Philippine government, said everyone remained on the ship’s bridge after the attack while he contacted the ship’s owner, the Philippine government and the US Navy, which patrols the waters to ward off Houthi attacks. He also warned nearby ships to avoid their location.

“We are asking for immediate help. We have been hit by a bomb,” Mr Domrique says into the radio, according to another video posted on Facebook.

About four hours after the collision, at around 1 p.m., their immobilized ship was rocked by another explosion – this time from a Houthi missile.

“We didn’t know what to do,” said Mr Domrique. “We were attacked by both water and air. We had only our prayers to rely on.”

Crew members went downstairs into a passageway and camped there amidst scattered water bottles, bags, extension cords and phone chargers. Some sailors slept on the stairs.

“We are now hiding in the alley in the middle of the ship because we don’t know where the bombs are going to hit,” said John Flores, the ship’s chief engineer, in a series of text messages to his wife that she later posted on Facebook.

The crew managed to find oil to power a small generator that provided lights, electricity and internet access. But Mr Flores feared they might be attacked again. He texted his wife that their ship had been adrift for ten hours, waiting for rescuers.

“Please remember that I love you and the kids very much,” he wrote. “Always take care of yourselves. I miss you all so much.”

Eventually, U.S. Navy helicopters arrived and took the crew members from the ship to a naval cruiser, the USS Philippine Sea. The U.S. soldiers, many of them Filipino Americans, greeted them warmly, Mr. Domrique said, singing karaoke songs and bringing them food. They were taken to Bahrain before flying to Manila.

When the crew members arrived at the airport, they were smiling, but no one spoke to reporters. After the press conference, Domrique hugged his wife, the relief clearly visible on their faces.

“We are all traumatized,” he said at the press conference, fighting back tears.