Crew member dies after Houthi attack on Dutch cargo ship in Gulf of Aden

A crew member has died from injuries sustained during a Houthi attack on a Dutch cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, as the Iran-backed rebels escalate their campaign against international targets and UN workers in Yemen.

The Migrant Workers Administration of the Philippines confirmed that the victim was a Filipino national on board the Minerfgracht, a ship operated by Amsterdam-based Spliethoff. The ship was hit by explosive devices while sailing in international waters, resulting in a fire that forced the evacuation of 19 crew members of Russian, Ukrainian, Filipino and Sri Lankan nationalities. He was rescued by helicopter and taken to safety, the company said.

The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that the ship “violated the ban on entry into the ports of occupied Palestine.” The group has repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming its attacks are acts of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza.

But the strike on the Minervagracht was the first major assault in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, since July 2024.

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The strike on the Minerführergracht was marked by the first Houthi attack on a commercial ship since the September 1 attack on the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlett Ray near the Saudi city of Yanbu.

Meanwhile, the UN said 10 of its staff – all Yemeni citizens – were detained this week in Houthi-controlled areas. They were working to provide humanitarian aid in one of the poorest and most war-torn countries.

According to the UN, a total of 54 staff have been detained by the Houthis since 2021 as the rebels increasingly crack down on international aid organisations. The Houthis have previously accused the detained aid workers of being part of a “spy network,” a claim that UN and human rights groups have strongly denied.

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A boy holds a toy weapon as protesters, mostly Houthi supporters, attend a pro-Palestinian rally one day after Israeli airstrikes in Sana, Yemen on September 26, 2025. (Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

The offers come as Yemen’s civil war, now in its tenth year, continues to fragment the country and complicate aid delivery, with more than two-thirds of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance.

The attacks come after Washington agreed to a ceasefire with the Houthis in May – raising questions about whether it will hold.

The Houthis “say they won’t blow up ships anymore,” president Donald Trump said on May 6 when he announced a ceasefire.

In July, the Houthis attacked the Greek-owned merchant ship Sahar and its bulk traffic to Al Khabra.

The Houthis have been attacking international ships in the Red Sea, like this sinking British ship, since 2023. (Al-Jumhuriya Channel via Getty Earth)

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Between December 2023 and February 2024, Houthi attacks caused a 90% decline in global container shipping through the Red Sea, according to the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

The Houthis did not violate a ceasefire prohibiting attacks on US ships, but they did violate a provision of the agreement requiring the “smooth flow of international commercial shipping.”