Karachi Mourns Sailor Killed in Houthi Missile Attack on Red Sea Vessel

Mourners gathered in Karachi on Thursday to bid farewell to Mohammad Akram, a Pakistani crew member who died in a Houthi missile attack on a commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait last week.

Akram was among six people killed when the Tanzanian-flagged ship came under fire just off Yemen's coast. It was the first deadly Houthi strike on a vessel navigating the strait this year.

His brother, Mohammad Hussain, recalled his final conversation with Akram before he left for Yemen. "When he was leaving, I repeatedly told him, 'Don't go, don't go. Come back,'" Hussain said at the funeral. "But once a person goes to sea on a ship, it becomes difficult because of commitments."

Hussain said his brother had been at sea for about four months and was preparing to return home when the attack occurred. "Four missiles hit his ship. Almost everyone on board was injured," he said. "Among them, there were two Pakistanis who died. One of them was my brother, whose body has been recovered, and the other was the captain."

The Houthis had declared a blockade on Saudi-linked ships leaving the strait, citing a yearslong Saudi siege on Yemen and recent strikes on the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The group had said it would target vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or those moving in and out of its Red Sea ports.

During a similar blockade announced during the Gaza war, the Houthis attacked over 100 vessels before a U.S. and Israeli air campaign ended the attacks in early 2025.