US Navy evacuates crew of merchant ship hit by Houthis | World News

The crew of a merchant ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi militia in the Red Sea last week has been airlifted to shore, but one crew member is still missing, the U.S. Navy said on Sunday.

On Wednesday, the Tutor, a Greek-owned bulk carrier, was attacked by the Houthis. The Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for months in what they say is a campaign to pressure Israel to end its siege of Gaza.

The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said the attack by an “unmanned surface vessel” of the Houthis had caused “severe flooding and damage” to the Tutor’s engine room.

It added that members of the Eisenhower aircraft carrier battle group flew the sailors to a Navy cruiser and then to the Eisenhower for medical examinations before they were flown ashore on Saturday.

also read | Ship evacuated and ablaze after Yemeni Houthis attack: UKMTO

Most of the Tutor’s crew, including the missing sailor, are from the Philippines, according to the Philippine state news agency. The agency reported on Sunday that the rescued crew members had been taken to the port of Manama, Bahrain, and were expected to arrive in Manila by plane on Monday.

The crew of another merchant ship, the Verbena, was evacuated after it was struck by the Houthis near the Gulf of Aden on Thursday. The ship “was engulfed in flames and sank,” the British naval trade operation said on Saturday. Another cargo ship in the area “has recovered the sailors and is bringing them to safety,” the US Central Command said.

The Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping – in a key corridor to and from the Suez Canal – have disrupted global maritime trade since November. In response, the US and Britain have carried out airstrikes on Yemen, and US Central Command said this month that its forces had destroyed several Houthis’ drones and anti-ship missiles.