Yemen Monitor/News Room
A British maritime agency said on Sunday that the ship targeted by a Houthi drone earlier today off the coast of Yemen is at risk of sinking.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a statement that water was flooding the ship uncontrollably after it was hit, and that “the master and crew were forced to abandon ship and were rescued by another vessel.”
Earlier, the UK Navy said it had received a distress call from a ship 96 nautical miles southeast of Hodeidah, Yemen, adding that authorities were investigating the matter.
On Sunday, the British agency said it had received a report of an incident 65 nautical miles off the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
It added that the master of a merchant vessel reported being attacked by a drone, which damaged the ship but caused no injuries to the crew.
Since November, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) has recorded more than 190 attacks on US military or commercial ships off the coasts of Yemen, including nearly 100 attacks since the start of US airstrikes in January.
Houthis have sunk two ships, including the Rubymar in March and the Greek-owned coal tanker Tutor, which was hit in the stern last week by a surface vessel packed with explosives.
Also in March, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile, setting fire to the Barbados-flagged True Confidence, killing three people, according to the Washington Post.
