The Tutor, a Greek-owned kamsarmax, has become the second constructive total loss from the seven-month campaign by the Houthis to disrupt merchant shipping in the Middle East.
The vessel sustained damage and water ingress in the engine room last Wednesday when it was hit by a sea drone with one seafarer dying in the attack.
The Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said in a warning to sailors in the region.
“Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the last reported location,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is believed to have sunk.”
Another attack on Thursday last week on the Verbena, a general cargo ship owned by Ukraine-based Donbasstransitservice, saw three projectiles hit the ship, creating a severe blaze onboard with nearby US military personnel medevacing one seriously injured seafarer to hospital.
All crew on both ships were evacuated on Saturday with the fate of the Verbena unknown.
In early March, the Rubymar became the first constructive total loss from the Houthi campaign, sinking in the Red Sea, having been hit by missiles in the middle of February.
Last week was a noticeable step up for the Houthis, both in terms of the volume of attacks as well as their improving accuracy.
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