Hijacked, sunk, set ablaze: Yemen rebels' Red Sea attacks

This handout picture provided by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES on September 5, 2024, and dated September 2, shows smoke and fire aboard the Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion off the coast of Hodeida in the Red Sea. [AFP]

Yemen's Huthi rebels have attacked scores of merchant ships off the country's coast over the past 10 months as part of a sometimes-deadly campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The Iran-backed Huthis' drone and missile strikes have targeted nearly 100 vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, which is run by a Western naval coalition.

Here are the most significant attacks by the Huthis, who say their campaign is aimed at ships linked to Israel and its Western allies the United States and Britain.

However, Washington said early this year that dozens of countries had ties to the attacked vessels.

Galaxy Leader

The Huthis stormed and hijacked a vehicle carrier, the Galaxy Leader, in November, detaining its 25 international crew who remain captive.

The rebels later opened the ship as an attraction for Yemeni tourists who were invited to visit the captured vessel, which was by then flying Yemeni and Palestinian flags off the rebel-held province of Hodeida.

The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader is operated by a Japanese firm but has links to Israeli businessman Abraham "Rami" Ungar.

Rubymar

The Rubymar, a cargo ship carrying 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertiliser, was hit by a Huthi missile on February 18, causing serious damage and forcing the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti.

Less than two weeks later, on March 2, the Belize-flagged, British-registered and Lebanese-operated vessel went down south of the Hanish Islands, a Yemeni archipelago, in the first known sinking from the attacks.

True Confidence

Three crew were killed and four wounded when a Huthi ballistic missile struck the True Confidence merchant vessel on March 6, the first fatal attack of the rebels' campaign.

The Indian Navy rescued 21 of the crew aboard the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned ship, including 13 Filipinos, and took them to Djibouti.

The ship, which suffered serious damage, was towed to the port of Al-Duqm in Oman.

Tutor

On June 12, the Huthis attacked the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned merchant ship, killing a Filipino sailor.

The vessel, hit off Hodeida, suffered serious flooding and was abandoned before it eventually sank.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the ship had "nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza".

Sounion

Huthi projectiles hit the Greek-flagged Sounion oil tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes --  or more than a million barrels -- of oil off Hodeida on August 21, causing a fire and cutting engine power.

The crew, 23 Filipinos and two Russians were rescued the next day by a French frigate serving with the European Union's Aspides naval mission.

The Huthis later released a video of masked men detonating explosives on the Sounion, causing several fires on board.

Last week, an operation by private companies to tow away the burning ship was abandoned for safety reasons. Surveillance flights spotted several fires onboard as recently as Saturday, said the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by an international naval coalition.

The United States and environmental group Greenpeace have warned of a potential ecological catastrophe involving four times more oil than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska if the ship explodes or breaks up.