Houthis launch bomb-boat attack on bulk cargo ship in Red Sea

The captain 'reports the vessel is taking on water and is not under command of the crew'

The USS Laboon in the Red Sea as part of the US-led operation to keep the shipping channels open. AP

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Yemen's Houthis launched a boat-borne bomb attack against a commercial ship in the Red Sea, authorities said.

In a warning to shippers, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said the vessel was hit in its stern by a small white craft south-west of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah.

The captain “reports the vessel is taking on water and not under command of the crew,” the UKMTO said.

The captain also reported that “the vessel was hit for a second time by an unknown airborne projectile”.

The Houthis' military spokesman, Brig Gen Yahya Saree, claimed responsibility for the attack, identifying the vessel as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Tutor.

It was not immediately clear whether the attack involved people on board the Houthi vessel or a remotely piloted drone boat.

The Iran-backed group has used drone boats in its campaign but so far have not been known to launch one-way attacks.

The Houthis, who control much of southern and central Yemen, have attacked ships in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

They say their attacks are aimed at stopping the war and supporting the Palestinians.

They have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, killed three sailors, and seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.

The USS Laboon was in the Red Sea when the first alert came about the attack.

Commanding officer Eric Blomberg told AP that the Houthis “hit ships that are completely not associated or tied to the US or Israel at all”.

“These are just innocent merchant sailors carrying goods through the Red Sea, trying to get it through the least-expensive route, and they're paying for it,” he said.

The Laboon is one of the destroyers accompanying the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier and has shot down Houthi projectiles and escorted vessels through the region.

Since November, the Houthi rebels in Yemen have managed to shut down most commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which is normally a route for about 12 per cent of global seaborne trade.

The US, which is leading an aerial campaign alongside the UK and several other countries, has conducted waves of air strikes in the Red Sea and Yemen to stop these missiles and drones.