Houthi attack forces crew to abandon coal carrier in Red Sea

Houthi supporters hold up weapons during a protest in Yemen. The crew of the Tutor were forced to abandon the coal-carrier in the Red Sea after the group targeted it. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

The crew of a Greek-owned vessel damaged in an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants has been evacuated and the abandoned ship is drifting in the Red Sea, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

One crew member from Tutor, the Liberia-flagged coal carrier, remains missing, officials in the Philippines said, after an attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room, leaving the vessel unable to manoeuvre.