Three crew members killed in suspected Houthi attack near Yemen

Perim Island, Yemen. Three crew members were killed in a suspected attack by Iran-backed Houthis on the Egyptian-owned cargo vessel Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, sources said. Separately, a Panama-flagged container ship was struck by a missile off Pakistan in what sources described as a suspected U.S. attack.

Tihamah incident

The reported fatalities would be the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28, if confirmed. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yemeni sources said two Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national were killed. They said the crew lost control of the vessel after the attack and Yemeni coastguard personnel approached the ship.

Yemeni forces then came under fire, according to UK maritime risk management group Vanguard.

The British navy-affiliated UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile. British maritime security group Ambrey said the incident occurred while the ship was at anchor northeast of Perim Island.

Red Sea embargo

The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, citing what they described as a Saudi siege. Riyadh denies that Yemen is under siege.

Vela Nova attack

The Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources told Reuters.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a U.S. helicopter fired a Hellfire missile at the vessel’s rudder after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade of Iran-linked shipping in the region.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. Central Command.