DUBAI, June 21. /TASS/. Yemen’s Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement presented their self-produced unmanned surface vehicle that was used to attack the Tutor bulk carrier, which subsequently sank in the Red Sea.
The footage aired on the Al Masirah television channel shows the Toofan-1 drone boat and the moment of the attack on the vessel. It is reported that the sea drone can carry up to 150 kilos of explosives and has a speed of up to 35 miles per hour. It is designed to "engage nearby stationary and moving marine targets."
The Houthis claimed the attack on the vessel on June 12. According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the Greek-owned Tutor bulk carrier, which was hit off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, sank in the Red Sea a few days later. The Liberia-flagged ship was sailing across the Red Sea to India. The crew on board were Filipino nationals. The country’s authorities said that 21 crew members were evacuated and one sailor was missing.
Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement warned that they would carry out strikes on Israeli territory and would bar any ships associated with the Jewish state from sailing across the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ended. Since mid-November 2023, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In response to the Houthi attacks, Washington announced establishing an international coalition and launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of vessels in the Red Sea. Since then, the US and UK militaries have regularly delivered joint strikes on the rebels’ military targets across Yemen.