emen’s Houthis claim attack on cargo ship in Red Sea

ISTANBUL

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility on Monday for an attack on a bulk carrier in the Red Sea, which left the vessel taking on water before it sank.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Magic Seas vessel was hit on Sunday by “two unmanned boats, five ballistic and cruise missiles, and three drones.”

“The operation directly hit the ship, leading to water ingress. It is now exposed to sinking,” Saree said. “Our forces allowed the crew to safely evacuate.”

The Houthi spokesman said the vessel and its owners violated what the group called a “ban on entering occupied Palestinian ports,” in reference to Israeli ports. He did not name the vessel’s owner or operator.

Saree added that the attack followed several warnings sent to the ship, which he said were ignored by the crew.

Later, Saree said that the vessel “sank entirely into the depths of the sea.”

The United Arab Emirates said that it rescued the vessel’s crew after it came under attack in the Red Sea. A Foreign Ministry statement said: “The attack caused damage to the vessel’s structure, forcing its crew to abandon ship under difficult maritime conditions.”

It added that “all 22 individuals aboard the vessel, including crew and security personnel, were rescued.”

The statement said the operation “was carried out in close coordination with specialized maritime authorities, including the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and relevant international organizations.”

The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since the Israeli military resumed attacks on Gaza in March after two months of a shaky ceasefire.

Since November 2023, the group has also targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where over 57,000 people have been killed in an Israeli onslaught.