ALBAWABA- At least two crew members were injured and two remain missing after a Liberia-flagged commercial vessel was attacked near the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Reuters reported, citing a maritime security source.
The incident occurred approximately 49 nautical miles southwest of the port, according to the Ambrey Maritime Security Company.
This marks the second attack on vessels in the Red Sea within 24 hours. Just a day earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for targeting the cargo ship Magic Seas, which subsequently sank.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed via social media that the vessel had been “completely submerged,” stating that it had repeatedly violated the group’s ban on ships entering Israeli ports.
Saree alleged that the ship’s operators had ignored prior warnings, noting that three of its vessels had recently docked in “occupied Palestine” despite Houthi objections. The group has declared a naval blockade on ships bound for Israel, part of a wider campaign of attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Meanwhile, the U.K. Ambassador to Yemen, Abda Sharif, denounced the attack as “horrific,” warning that it risks triggering an environmental disaster and disrupts the delivery of essential goods and humanitarian aid to Yemen.
She added that the strike not only endangered the crew aboard Magic Seas but also caused collateral damage to another vessel in the region.
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen also issued a strong condemnation, accusing the Houthi leadership of undermining freedom of navigation and exacerbating economic hardship and instability in Yemen.
The British military confirmed that water had begun leaking into the vessel attacked near Hodeidah and that the crew was preparing to abandon ship.
The Magic Seas, which was en route to Egypt at the time of its sinking, is the latest casualty in a series of Houthi attacks on commercial and civilian vessels in the Red Sea over the past 18 months.
