On August 11, four crew members were killed when the Iran-backed Houthis attacked a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Yemen's transport ministry. There were also reports of a missile hitting a container ship off the coast of Pakistan, which is suspected to be a U.S. strike.
If confirmed, this would be the first casualty in a Houthi attack on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28. The Houthis have not taken responsibility for the attack.
The Yemeni ministry reported that three Pakistani crew members and one from Indonesia died, and the crew lost control of the ship during the attack.
Three coastguard members were injured by a drone while attempting to rescue the crew, according to Yemeni military sources. The Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, citing a Saudi siege, which Riyadh denies.
The British navy-associated agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that the ship was hit by an unknown projectile.
The incident occurred while the ship was anchored northeast of Perim Island in Yemen, as stated by British maritime security group Ambrey.
ATTACK OFF PAKISTAN
In a separate event, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile while entering the Gulf of Oman, according to maritime security sources.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the vessel was attacked by a U.S. helicopter, which fired a Hellfire missile at the ship’s rudder when it attempted to evade a U.S. blockade on Iran-linked shipping in the area.
There has been no immediate comment from U.S. Central Command.
If confirmed, this would be the 12th vessel targeted by U.S. forces since the blockade was initiated in April and the third after the blockade was reinstated on July 14. The ship had recently docked in Mumbai and Port Klang, Malaysia, areas where Iran-linked vessels have also been observed, according to Charlie Brown, a senior advisor at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors tanker traffic connected to Iran.
“The reported disabling of the Panama-flagged Vela Nova near the blockade line in the Gulf of Oman highlights the increased scrutiny on Iran-related shipping,” he stated.
The ship is believed to have been struck approximately 71 nautical miles off the coast of Pakistan, as noted by the UK maritime risk management group Vanguard.
SHIPPING TRAFFIC
Shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea has dropped by over 50% since earlier Houthi attacks on shipping in 2023-25.
Traffic has declined further since the embargo was announced, with an average of 32 ships passing through the strait last week, down from an average of 50 before the blockade, according to Kpler data.
Ambrey also pointed out that the cargo ship, reported as the Tihamah, is not Saudi-owned or operated and had departed the Yemeni government-held port of al-Mokha on Saturday.
LSEG data indicates that Egyptian companies own and manage the ship, but they did not respond to requests for comments from Reuters.
Traffic has also been severely affected in the Strait of Hormuz, with only six vessels passing through on Monday, compared to a 10-day average of about 11 and pre-war levels of around 130 to 140.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Aden, Jonathan Saul in London, Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Maha El Dahan and Tala Ramadan in Dubai; writing by Nayera Abdallah and Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Michael Georgy, David Goodman and Jason Neely)