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The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen said on Monday the Houthis had seized a vessel towing a South Korean drilling rig at the southern end of the Red Sea.
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The vessel was seized late on Sunday by armed Houthis, Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement carried by Saudi state media. He did not say how many crew members were on board the ship.
South Korea said two of its vessels were captured, a tug boat and a sand dredger, each of which had one South Korean national was on board.
Four other crew members of unknown nationalities were also on board, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
Both vessels were owned by South Korean builder Woongjin Development, a company official told Reuters.
Another 10 foreign nationals were on board a towing vessel that belongs to Saudi Arabia which was seized along with the two South Korean vessels, the South Korean ministry said.
A South Korean navy ship that has been conducting anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea near Oman has been ordered to deploy to the area where the vessels were seized, the ministry said.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior Houthi official told Reuters the group's forces had seized a "suspect vessel" in the Red Sea and said the crew were being treated well.
"Yemeni coast guards … are checking to see whether (the ship) belongs to the countries of aggression or to South Korea, in which case it will be released after completing legal procedures," he said.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV said three ships had been seized near Uqban island, including one belong to Saudi Arabia, and taken to the Yemeni portRead More – Source
