A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels believed to have killed one mariner on board, the author said early Wednesday, the second ship sunk in the rebels’ campaign. The sinking of the Tutor in the Red Sea marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign targeting shipping through the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The attack comes despite a monthslong U.S.-led campaign in the region that has seen the Navy face its most intense maritime fighting since World War II, with near-daily attacks targeting commercial vessels and warships. The Libernian-flagged, Greek-owned-and-operated Tutor sank in the Red Sea, and the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center issued a warning to sailors in the region.
“Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sightings in the last reported location,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is believed to have sunk.” The Houthis, quoting foreign reports in the media outlets they control, acknowledged the sinking.