Houthis claim responsibility for attack on merchant ship in Red Sea

The Yemeni Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on a merchant ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.

A spokesman for the Houthi forces said the group had attacked a Liberian-flagged ship called the Tutor with a sea drone.

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 reported. No casualties were reported.

It further said that the ship had been hit a second time “by an unknown projectile from the air” and that the military authorities had provided assistance.

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. The ship is said to be a Greek vessel that 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 over the past 24 hours, as well as an unmanned aerial system launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen over the Red Sea.

“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 United Nations said the Houthis in Yemen had arrested two more of their staff, bringing the total number of staff arrested by the group in the past 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.