Cargo ship hit by Huthi rebels is abandoned, says US military
A picture shows a view of the Israel-linked cargo vessel Galaxy Leader seized by Huthi fighters, at anchor off the coast of Yemen’s Hodeida on May 12, 2024. Yemen’s Huthi rebels have carried out dozens of missile and drone attacks against shipping in the Red Sea, and in November 2023 seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader, saying their campaign is in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war. (File photo by AFP)
The crew of a bulk cargo carrier that was damaged in a missile attack by Yemen’s Huthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden has abandoned the ship, the US military said Saturday.
The Huthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in attacks they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Those attacks surged this week.
The crew of the M/V Verbena — a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated ship — issued a distress call because it could not control fires touched off by the attack with two cruise missiles from the Iran-backed rebels on Thursday, US Central Command said.
Another cargo ship rescued the crew, CENTCOM said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
Article continues after this advertisement“The Iranian frigate IRIN Jamaran was eight nautical miles from M/V Verbena and did not respond to the distress call,” CENTCOM said.
Article continues after this advertisementThe missile attack severely injured a sailor, who was evacuated by US forces.
Another cargo ship, the M/V Tutor, was abandoned after it was struck by a sea drone off the rebel-held city of Hodeida on Wednesday, causing serious flooding, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy.
The vessel is adrift in the Red Sea.
The Huthis seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government the following year.
Yemen’s war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead, through fighting or indirect causes such as disease or lack of food, with most of the population dependent on aid.
