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, Report informs referring to Reuters.
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 manoeuvre. 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.