SANA'A, Aug 11 — Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, while sources reported a missile attack on a container ship off Pakistan in a suspected United States (US) strike.
The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28. The Houthis have not claimed the attack.
Yemen's Transport Ministry said that three Pakistanis and one Indonesian were killed, with the crew losing control of the vessel after being attacked.
Meanwhile, Yemeni military sources said that three Coast Guard personnel were injured after being targeted by a drone while trying to rescue the crew.
The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20 in response to what they described as a Saudi siege. Riyadh denies that Yemen is under siege.
The United Kingdom (UK) Navy-affiliated agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) stated that the ship was hit by an unknown projectile.
UK maritime security group Ambrey said the incident occurred while the ship was at anchor northeast of Perim Island in Yemen.
Attack off Pakistan
Separately, maritime security sources told Reuters that the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile in an attack off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the vessel was attacked by a US helicopter, which fired a Hellfire missile at the ship's rudder after it tried to evade a US blockade of Iran-linked shipping in the region.
There was no immediate comment from the US Central Command.
If confirmed, it would be the 12th vessel attacked by American forces since its blockade was announced in April and the third since the blockade was reimposed on July 14.
US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran's senior advisor Charlie Brown, whose organisation monitors Iran-related tanker traffic using ship and satellite tracking, said that the ship recently made port calls in Mumbai and Port Klang, Malaysia, where Iran-linked ships have also been spotted.
"The reported US disabling and stopping of the Panama-flagged Vela Nova near the blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, after its recent Mumbai port call alongside these vessels, underscores the heightened scrutiny now being applied to Iran-related shipping," he said.
UK maritime risk management group Vanguard said that the ship was believed to have been hit some 71 nautical miles off Pakistan's coast.
Shipping traffic
Shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Red Sea has fallen by more than 50 per cent since an earlier wave of Houthi attacks on shipping in 2023-2025.
Kpler data revealed that they have fallen further since the Houthis announced their blockade last month, with an average of 32 ships per day passing through the strait last week, down from an average of 50 before the blockade.
Ambrey noted that the cargo ship, which sources said was the Tihamah, was neither Saudi-owned nor operated and had departed the Yemeni government-held port of al-Mokha on Saturday.
LSEG data lists Egyptian companies as owners and managers of the ship. Neither responded to Reuters emails and phone calls seeking immediate comment.
Traffic is even more disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz, with just six passing through on Monday, down from a 10-day average of about 11 and prewar levels of some 130 to 140.
