TWENTY-THREE Filipino seafarers were unharmed in an attack launched in the Red Sea on Saturday by Houthi rebels, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
The US military said the Iran-backed Houthi militants hit a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker off Yemen’s Red Sea coast with an anti-ship missile but the crew was able to restore power and maintain course.
There were no casualties reported by the ship, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on the X social media platform.
The strike was the latest in months of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by the Houthis who seized control of most of Yemen’s major population centers in a civil war, in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac sad the oil tanker “was lightly damaged and has proceeded to her destination with an all-Filipino crew of 23 safe and unharmed seafarers.”
The incident is just the latest act of hostility in the Red Sea, wherein Filipino seafarers have been affected.
The increasing number of sea attacks in the area has prompted the DMW to push for the inclusion of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the list of “high-risk areas” and “war-like zones” of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the International Bargaining Forum.
The Houthis launched a single anti-ship missile at the M/T Wind, a Panamanian-flagged and Greek-owned oil tanker, at around 1 a.m. local time, causing flooding that knocked out its propulsion and steering, CENTCOM said.
A vessel of a US-led maritime coalition immediately responded, but the crew was able to restore power and steering, no assistance was required and the ship “resumed its course under its own power,” it said.
“This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said.
British security firm Ambrey said the attack occurred about 10 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mokha, and that the missile caused a fire in the steering gear compartment.
The vessel had loaded oil at the Sheskharis terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and was bound for China, Ambrey said in an advisory note.
Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa.
The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response. – Gerard Naval and Reuters
