MANILA/LONDON: The crew of a Greek-owned vessel damaged in an attack by Yemeni Houthi militants has been evacuated, and the abandoned ship is drifting in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday.
One sailor from Tutor, the Liberia-flagged coal carrier, remains missing, officials in the Philippines said.
The attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left Tutor unable to maneuver.
Iran-aligned Houthis 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 last week, “marking a significant increase in effectiveness,” British security firm Ambrey said.
The Houthis have used drones and missiles to assault ships in the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. They have sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three seafarers in separate attacks.
“This situation cannot go on,” International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
Tutor’s 22 crew members are mostly Filipino, Hans Cacdac, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers secretary, told a press conference in Manila.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr said the country’s authorities were coordinating with the UKMTO to take the crew members to Djibouti and bring them home.
The missing crew member was believed to be trapped in the engine room, maritime sources said.
“We are still ... trying to account for the particular seafarer in that ship. We are praying we could find him,” Cacdac said.
The ship’s Athens-based manager Evalend Shipping has not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Tsavliris Salvage Group has been assigned to tow the ship, which is carrying 80,000 tons of coal, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The project will involve two vessels. The first is expected to reach Tutor on Monday morning and the second on Tuesday evening.
The Houthis’ air and sea campaign has disrupted global shipping, causing delays and costs to cascade through supply chains. At least 65 countries and major energy and shipping companies — including Shell, BP, Maersk and Cosco — have been affected, according to a report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency.
INTERCARGO, which represents dry cargo ship owners, urged states to enhance maritime security in the area.
“We demand that all involved parties cease their deliberate and targeted attacks on innocent seafarers with immediate effect,” it said. (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Manila and Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis in Athens, Jonathan Saul in London, Adam Makary and Enas Alashray in Cairo, and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Cynthia Osterman)
