More serious attacks on vessels have been reported in the Red Sea, leaving a bulker damaged.
The latest incidents came as Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed to have widened their attacks to vessels in an Israeli port and in the Mediterranean and with shipowners fearful of a huge escalation in activity.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Sunday it had received a report of a distress call from a vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
The ship reportedly suffered flooding that could not be contained, but the cause has not been confirmed and may not be related to Houthi activity.
Security company Africa Risk Compliance said this was a 250-metre tanker.
But Diaplous Group identified the vessel as a Comoros-flagged bulk carrier.
The security company said the ship was spotted on Monday, half-sunken and posing a threat to navigation.
“The master and crew have been forced to abandon ship and have been rescued by an assisting vessel,” UKMTO said.
Earlier on Sunday, the master of a Liberia-flagged, Greek-owned bulker reported a missile strike from a drone while underway 65 nautical miles (120km) north-west of Hodeidah in the Red Sea.
Diaplous Group and Ambrey Analytics said the ship suffered damage to its portside accommodation ladder and the bridge.
A number of crew injuries were also reported. These were said to not require immediate medical attention.
The ship had continued sailing to the next port of call.
Second attempt
The same bulker issued a distress call on Friday while in the Gulf of Aden, saying it had seen two explosions in the vicinity of the port side.
The bulker switched off its AIS approximately four hours after the initial targeting incident, Ambrey added.
The Houthis named the ship as Stealth Maritime’s 178,000-dwt capesize Transworld Navigator (built 2010).
Stealth Maritime has been contacted for comment.
AIS data shows the ship had been travelling from China to Suez.
The US Central Command confirmed the bulker attack on Sunday.
On Monday morning, the UKMTO reported it was investigating another incident involving a ship 246 nautical miles (455 km) south-east of Nishtun in Yemen.
The master reported an explosion near the ship, but the vessel was able to continue on its voyage.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree also said the group had targeted Stolt Tankers’ Liberia-flagged, 37,600-dwt chemical carrier Stolt Sequoia (built 2003) in the Indian Ocean with a number of cruise missiles.
He claimed both the bulker and tanker belonged to companies that “violated the ban on entering the ports of occupied Palestine”.
The Stolt Sequoia appeared to be heading from Bahrain to Le Havre in France around South Africa before the attack.
AIS data has not been updated for two days.
Israeli attack claims
All this came against a background of more claims by the Houthis that they have struck targets outside the usual Red Sea/Gulf of Aden region.
On Saturday, the group said it had conducted a joint military operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq militant group, targeting four ships at Israel’s northern Haifa port.
Saree said on X that the two groups launched a drone attack on two cement carriers and two cargo ships there on Saturday.
Again, he claimed the vessels belonged to companies that “violated the ban on entering the ports of occupied Palestine”.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Saree also said the Houthis had attacked the 4,442-dwt livestock carrier Shorthorn Express (built 1998) in the Mediterranean using drones.
Dutch operator Vroon told TradeWinds the claim was a hoax.
“The company would like to stress that crew, its cargo and the vessel are safe and no signs of an attack were noticed. Shorthorn Express is, meanwhile, proceeding its voyage to its port of destination,” the company said.
“The two operations successfully achieved their objectives, and the strikes were precise and direct,” Saree claimed.
As TradeWinds reported last week, shipowners are fearful of the increased activity from the Houthi rebels, who are seven months into a fierce campaign targeting one of the key arteries of world trade.
The warning came after the Houthis released footage showing them finishing off the abandoned and drifting 82,000-dwt Tutor (built 2022) in the Red Sea. “This is a huge escalation,” one respected shipowner told TradeWinds, after the Evalend ship became the second to be sunk by Houthi hands.
