Yemeni Forces Destroy Houthi Unmanned Attack Boat Base

National Resistance Forces Strike Houthi Drone Boat Outpost

According to a report by The Maritime Executive, forces aligned with Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) have destroyed a Tufan-1 unmanned attack boat stationed at a Houthi naval outpost along the Red Sea coast. Footage of the strike, released by the National Resistance Forces (NRF), also appears to show an earlier attack that had already knocked out a second Tufan-1 craft and the Houthi facility itself, which sits at the end of a causeway.

Analysts examining the outpost’s location, positioned toward the northern end of the coastal strip controlled by the Houthis, believe the unmanned boats stationed there were being prepared for use against shipping and naval targets off the Saudi coastline rather than in the southern Red Sea or Bab el-Mandeb corridor where most recent attacks have concentrated.

A Weapon With a Deadly Track Record

The Tufan-1 is not a new threat. It was the weapon used in the June 23, 2024 attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Transworld Navigator (IMO 9469924), which survived a major explosion and continues trading today under a new name, Lonnie, flagged in the Bahamas. Eleven days earlier, on June 12, 2024, the same type of craft was deployed against the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MV Tutor (IMO 9942627), which ultimately sank, claiming the life of one Filipino crew member.

The boats are reportedly guided by a two-person crew that steers the vessel onto its final approach before abandoning it and being picked up by a support craft, leaving the drone to complete its run under radio control. Manufacturers and Houthi propaganda claim the Tufan-1 carries a 150kg warhead and can close on a target at speeds up to 35 knots. The Houthis have relied on homemade radio-controlled attack boats for years, dating back to a January 2017 strike that killed two Saudi sailors aboard the frigate HMS Al Madinah.

Interdiction of Drone Components Continues

Separately, NRF naval units intercepted a small dhow south of the Hanish Islands on August 24 after it transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait heading north. The vessel was found carrying a substantial quantity of Chinese- and Iranian-origin electrical components, reportedly enough to build hundreds of drones, along with matching radio-control gear. Documentation recovered aboard the dhow allegedly linked the shipment to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

What This Means for Shipping Operators

For ship owners and charterers routing vessels through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, this incident underscores that the threat from unmanned surface attack craft is not confined to the southern approaches most commonly associated with Houthi activity. The apparent northward orientation of the destroyed outpost suggests the group has been positioning assets to extend its reach toward Saudi waters, meaning vessels transiting further north along the Red Sea corridor cannot assume they are outside the effective range of these systems.

The survival of the Transworld Navigator after a direct hit also illustrates the importance of post-incident condition and damage surveys for vessels that sustain attacks but remain seaworthy enough to continue trading. Owners bringing a previously attacked hull back into commercial service, as happened when the vessel re-entered trade under a new name and flag, should ensure thorough structural and hull integrity inspections are carried out before resuming operations, particularly around areas exposed to blast or fragmentation damage. Given the continuing flow of drone-related components intercepted at sea, technical managers operating in the region should also maintain close coordination with naval task forces and up-to-date threat advisories when planning voyages through affected waters.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.