video. Red Sea: A Greek ship exploded and sank after a Houthi missile attack
Ship explosion in the Red Sea. Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility and released images on Wednesday of their attack on a Greek cargo ship flying the Liberian flag on June 12. The M/V Tutor was reportedly hit by a naval drone and a missile before sinking. Another Yemeni rebel cargo ship, the M/V Verbena, was hit by missiles and abandoned by its crew in the Gulf of Aden. “The United States condemns the recent reckless and indiscriminate attacks by the Houthis against civilian shipping, including deliberate attacks on the M/V Tutor, which sank earlier this week, and the M/V Verbena, abandoned and drifting in the Red Sea. (… ),” commented US diplomatic spokesman Matthew Miller.
The US military announced, on Thursday evening, that it had “destroyed” four Houthi drone boats and two drones in the Red Sea. The previous day, Central Command indicated that it had struck two Houthi sites in Yemen, including a command center, after a series of attacks launched by these Yemeni rebels against ships sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The M/V Tutor will be the second ship to sink in a few months, following the attack on the Rubymar cargo ship on February 19. The Belize-flagged fertilizer ship operated by a Lebanese company sank in the Gulf of Aden after being damaged by Houthi missiles.
In addition to attacks on ships, the Houthis recently arrested more than a dozen aid workers, including UN staff, and accused them of being part of a “US-Israeli spy network.” “We once again call on the Houthis to release all detainees, including UN and NGO staff and diplomats who were arrested earlier this month,” Matthew Miller added in a statement, describing these arrests as “abhorrent.”
The attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, two major maritime areas for global trade, have driven up insurance costs and prompted many shipping companies to sail via the southern tip of Africa, a much longer route.
The Yemeni Houthis, members of the “Axis of Resistance”, a group of movements backed by Iran that includes the Palestinian Hamas movement and the Lebanese Hezbollah, have been launching attacks off the coast of Yemen against ships serving them for months, according to what they say. And Israel says it is working in support of the Gaza Strip, which is being bombed by the Israeli army.