Crew abandons commercial ship attacked in the Red Sea, UK military says
Greek-operated bulk carrier Magic Seas attacked with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, bomb-carrying drone boats
Crew members aboard a ship set ablaze by a series of attacks in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel on Sunday night as it took on water, marking the first serious assault in the vital corridor for trade after a months-long campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels there.
Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
The rebels’ media reported on the attack but did not claim it. It can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault.
The crew of the Greek-operated bulk carrier were rescued by a passing ship, maritime security firms said on Monday.
A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area, particularly after US President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major air strike campaign.
And it comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war hangs in the balance and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear programme following American air strikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.