Three crew members were killed after a small cargo ship was attacked in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait near Yemen on Tuesday, according to Yemeni sources, while a separate container ship was reportedly struck by a missile off Pakistan.
The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would mark the first reported deaths from a Houthi attack on commercial shipping since the war involving Iran began on February 28.
The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Two Pakistani crew members and one Indonesian national were reportedly killed while the vessel was travelling from Salalah in Oman towards Djibouti, according to Yemeni sources.
The sources said the crew lost control of the vessel after it was hit and was later approached by the Yemeni coastguard.
Ship hit near Perim Island
The British maritime security agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report that the vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile.
Maritime security company Ambrey said the incident occurred while the ship was anchored northeast of Yemen’s Perim Island.
The vessel was reportedly identified as the Tihamah, an Egyptian-owned cargo ship that had departed the Yemeni government-controlled port of al-Mokha.
Ambrey said the vessel was not Saudi-owned or operated.
The Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, saying it was in response to what they described as a Saudi blockade of Yemen. Riyadh has denied that Yemen is under siege.
Container ship hit off Pakistan
In a separate incident, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was reportedly struck by a missile while sailing towards the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources told Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a US helicopter fired a Hellfire missile at the vessel’s rudder after it allegedly attempted to evade a US blockade targeting Iran-linked shipping.
There was no immediate comment from US Central Command on the reported attack.
If confirmed, the incident would be the 12th vessel targeted by US forces since the blockade was announced in April and the third since it was reimposed on July 14.
Maritime security sources said the ship was reportedly struck about 71 nautical miles off Pakistan’s coast.
UKMTO also confirmed receiving a report involving a container ship and military forces, without providing further details.
Red Sea shipping traffic falls
Shipping activity through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea has already declined sharply following previous Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
According to Kpler data, an average of about 32 ships per day passed through the strait last week, down from around 50 before the latest Houthi blockade.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has also been severely disrupted. Only six vessels passed through the waterway on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 and prewar levels of roughly 130 to 140 vessels.
The latest attacks and sharp decline in shipping traffic have heightened concerns over the safety of one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
