Crew evacuated from vessel hit by Houthis

The crew of a Greek-owned vessel damaged in an attack by Yemeni Houthi militants has been evacuated and the abandoned ship is drifting in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and a Philippine minister said.

The search for one missing sailor will continue and there is a plan to start salvaging operations for the Tutor, the Liberia-flagged coal carrier, Hans Leo Cacdac, the Philippines' migrant workers minister said on Saturday.

He said the vessel's 22 crew members were all Filipinos.

"It just boils down to finding our seafarer who is still onboard," Cacdac told a press conference in Manila.

The attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left Tutor unable to maneuver. 

It was the third Houthi attack on a ship manned by Filipino seafarers since last year, with two Philippine sailors dying and 17 still held by militants, government data show.

Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Tutor and another vessel, Verbena, in the Gulf of Aden, over the past days. 

Their attacks also damaged two other ships in the last week, "marking a significant increase in effectiveness," British security firm Ambrey said.

"This situation cannot go on," International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr said the country's authorities were coordinating with the UKMTO to take the crew members to Djibouti and bring them home.

The missing crew member was believed to be trapped in the engine room, maritime sources and the Philippines' migrant workers ministry said.

Tutor is not sinking and can be safely towed away, Cacdac said after a meeting with the ship's manning agency. He added that Filipino seafarers have the right to refuse boarding in ships passing through Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The ship's Athens-based manager Evalend Shipping has not responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

Reuters