US Navy airlifts crew of merchant ship hit by the Houthis | World News

The crew of a merchant vessel that was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi militia in the Red Sea last week has been airlifted to shore, though one crew member remains missing, the US Navy said on Sunday.

The Tutor, a Greek-owned bulk carrier, was struck on Wednesday by the Houthis, who have for months targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in what they have called a campaign to pressure Israel to end its siege on the Gaza Strip.

The US Naval Forces Central Command said that the attack by an “uncrewed surface vessel” from the Houthis had caused “severe flooding and damage” to the engine room of the Tutor.

It added that members of the Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group airlifted the sailors to a Navy cruiser, then to the Eisenhower for medical checks before they were flown ashore on Saturday.

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Most of the Tutor’s crew members, including the missing sailor, are from the Philippines, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency. The agency reported on Sunday that the rescued crew members had been taken to the port of Manama, Bahrain, and were expected to arrive in Manila by plane on Monday.

The crew of another commercial ship, the Verbena, was evacuated after it was hit by the Houthis near the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, leaving the ship “on fire and sinking,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Saturday. Another cargo ship in the area had “recovered the mariners and is transporting them to safety,” US Central Command said.

The Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping — in a key corridor to and from the Suez Canal — have disrupted global maritime trade since November. In response, the US and Britain have been carrying out airstrikes on Yemen, and the US Central Command said this month that its forces had destroyed several Houthi drones and antiship missiles.