Crew members of a bulk cargo carrier struck by Houthi missiles abandoned ship June 15, after they couldn’t get fires on board under control, the U.S. military said.

The Iranian-backed militants struck the Verbena, a Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated ship, in two missile attacks on June 13, according to a U.S. Central Command statement. The crew sent out a distress call on June 15, and the mariners were rescued by another bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.

The Verbena was struck about 98 miles east of Aden in Yemen, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, which coordinates between military and commercial shipping.

Yemen’s Houthis have regularly attacked ships in and around the Red Sea since late 2023, reducing traffic by about 70% compared with the start of December. The group has targeted vessels in what it says is a response to the Israel-Hamas war.

The Verbena was sailing from Songkhla, Thailand, to Venice, Italy, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Update on M/V Verbena
 
On June 13, Iranian-backed Houthis struck M/V Verbena, a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier in two separate missile attacks. Today, at approximately 1:45 p.m. (Sanna time), the crew issued a distress call indicating they… pic.twitter.com/oQUdYTtHIO

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 15, 2024