[In brief] Houthi fire hits two ships, the Tutor and Verbena. The Karel Doormans evacuates an injured person
(B2) A Greek merchant ship was seriously damaged in the Red Sea on Wednesday (June 12). The crew forced to evacuate. The next day, another Ukrainian-Polish ship was hit, less seriously. But a sailor had to be evacuated.
The MV Tutor, hit by a suicide ship
The day before, Wednesday (June 12), a more serious incident was observed. THE MV Tutor, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, owned and operated by Greeks, was hit by a suicide boat — an unmanned surface vessel (USV), packed with explosives — while near the Eritrean coast (at 24 nautical miles), 66 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, in the Red Sea. The attacking vessel was between 5 and 7 meters long and white in color, and it struck the MV Tutor from behind, specifies the British Maritime Surveillance Center (UKMTO).
...the abandoned ship, one dead
The attack causes “ severe flooding and engine room damage », Indicates the American command (CentCom). A sailor was “ missing following attack ». He is one of the first sailors to be directly victims of Houthi fire. The crew then decides to abandon ship. He is rescued by an American warship,USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) and other forces. As for the ship, which had gone adrift, it “ slowly takes in water » indicated the US command, on June 14, and could sink.
The MV Verbena, also affected
Another merchant ship, the MV Verbena, flying the Ukrainian-owned Palau flag, operated by a Polish company, was hit on Thursday (June 13), by two missiles fired by the Houthis, while sailing 70 miles from Djibouti.
Major fire on board
The shots caused a fire. The information is then contradictory. First, on June 14, the US CentCom command reported that the crew of the MV Verbena “ put out the fire » and has « resumed its transit in the Gulf of Aden ". But the next day (June 15), the message from the American command was very alarming.
Uncontrolled fire, crew abandons
In fact, the crew sent out a distress signal. Another merchant ship, the MV Anna Meta replied “ to the cry for help picked up the sailors to bring them to safety ». The crew “ had to abandon ship due to persistent fires and inability to control them » indicates CentCom. And the Americans specify that the Iranian frigate IRIN Jamaran, which was nearby, “eight nautical miles from MV Verbena, did not respond to the distress call ».
An injured person evacuated
What is certain is that one of the sailors of the MV Verbena was seriously injured, a Nepalese. The helicopter on board the Karel Doormans, the Dutch support ship for Operation Aspides, then intervened. The injured sailor received first aid on board, operated on, then transferred to a hospital in Djibouti.
Other attacks reported
On the same day, Thursday (June 13) at 11:27 UTC, a merchant ship reported a missile explosion near the ship in the Red Sea. Furthermore, American forces succeeded in destroying an unmanned surface vessel (USV°) as well as an unmanned aerial system (UAS) in the Red Sea.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
