Capitals, Aug. 12 (SANA) Four crew members were killed in a Houthi militia attack on a small cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Yemeni authorities said, marking the first reported fatalities from an attack by the Iran-aligned militia on regional shipping since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on Feb. 28.
Yemen’s Transport Ministry said the attack on the Egyptian-owned Tihama took place Tuesday, killing three Pakistani nationals and an Indonesian crew member.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the deaths of its three nationals, while Yemeni authorities said the crew lost control of the vessel following the attack.
The Houthis later claimed responsibility, saying they had targeted a vessel carrying Saudi military equipment through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, but did not identify the ship.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report Tuesday that a vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile in the strait.
Reuters said it verified the vessel as the Tihama by comparing its deck and mast with archival images, while ship-tracking data placed it near Yemen on Aug. 11. British maritime security firm Ambrey also reported an attack on the vessel that day.
Rescuers killed in second attack
Yemen’s Coast Guard said two rescuers from the National Resistance Forces, an anti-Houthi group, were killed in another attack after rescue teams arrived at the scene.
Ten people were wounded, including seven crew members, two Coast Guard personnel and a member of the National Resistance Forces, it said.
Ambrey said the Tihama was neither Saudi-owned nor Saudi-operated and had departed the Yemeni government-controlled port of Mokha on Saturday. London Stock Exchange Group data showed that Egyptian companies own and manage the vessel.
U.S. forces strike container ship in Gulf of Oman
In a separate incident, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces fired two missiles that disabled the steering equipment of the Panama-flagged container ship Villa Nova as it sailed through the Gulf of Oman toward an Iranian port.
CENTCOM said the vessel had ignored repeated warnings to stop violating the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The Villa Nova was the 12th vessel targeted by U.S. forces since the blockade was announced in April and the third since it was reimposed on July 14, according to Reuters.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the vessel was believed to have been struck about 71 nautical miles off the Pakistani coast.
Shipping traffic falls sharply
Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea has fallen by more than 50% since an earlier wave of Houthi attacks on vessels between 2023 and 2025.
Traffic has declined further since the Houthis announced their blockade last month. Kpler data showed an average of 32 vessels a day crossed the Bab al-Mandeb last week, down from about 50 before the blockade.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has faced even greater disruption, with only six vessels crossing on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 and pre-war levels of 130 to 140 vessels a day.
R.A/ABD
