Yemeni tribesmen attend a rally denouncing the US designation of the Houthi rebels as a terrorist group in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Feb. 4, 2021 (Credir: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/File photo)
The crew of a Greek-owned vessel damaged in an attack by Yemen’s Houthis has been evacuated and the abandoned ship is drifting in the Red Sea, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
One crew member from Tutor, the Liberia-flagged coal carrier, remains missing, said officials in the Philippines cited in a Reuters report, after an attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room, leaving the vessel unable to maneuver.
The search for one missing sailor will continue Saturday and there is a plan to start salvaging operations for the Tutor, said Hans Leo Cacdac, the Philippines' migrant workers minister. The vessel's 22 crew members were all Filipinos.
"It just boils down to finding our seafarer who is still onboard," Cacdac told a press conference in Manila.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Tutor and another vessel, Verbena, in the Gulf of Aden, over the past days. Their attacks also damaged two other ships in the past week, “marking a significant increase in effectiveness,” British security firm Ambrey said.
The Houthis have used drones and missiles to target ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, in solidarity with Palestinians as they endure more than eight months of relentless Israeli bombardment. They have sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three seafarers in separate attacks, while hundreds of joint U.K.-U.S. airstrikes on Yemen, in defense of the "free flow of international commerce," have killed dozens of people, according to the Houthis.
U.S. destroys Houthi weaponry
The US military said on Friday that it had destroyed two un-manned surface vessels in the Red Sea belonging to the Houthis, as well as one drone and seven radars that allowed the group to target ships.
In the last 24 hours, "forces successfully destroyed one uncrewed aerial system" launched over the Red Sea, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post, adding the surface vessels and radars allowed the Houthis "to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping."
"It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said in the post.