Since November 2023, the Houthis, who captured the capital of Yemen in 2014 during the country's civil war, have conducted attacks against merchant and naval vessels they claim are linked to Israel, mainly in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

[3] According to the Yemeni TV Channel Al-Masirah, the Yemeni Navy claimed that "Tutor" was attacked because a sister ship belonging Evalend had entered the Israeli port of Haifa: "We have sent emails to the maritime companies informing them and warning that if their ships enter [the ports of the occupied territories], they will be on the banned list".

[9]At 07:10 AST, the Tutor's master reported an attack around 66.7 nautical miles (123.5 km; 76.8 mi) southwest of Al Hudaydah.

[8] The ship was directly struck on her stern by a USV, which the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) described as a "small, 5–7-metre (16–23 ft) long craft of white color".

The crew members recounted seeing what they thought was a small fishing vessel approach the port quarter seemingly carrying two people, who were revealed to have been mannequins.

[12][8] The engine room faced severe flooding and reportedly a fire, causing the crew to lose control of the ship.

[25] On 21 June, the Houthis released footage of the Unmanned surface vehicle (USV) used in the attack, which they called the "Tufan" or "Flood".

[20] The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines condemned the attack and vowed to take steps to protect Filipino seafarers.

[30] The Department of Migrant Workers held a meeting to discuss the safety of Filipino sailors and vowed to review its current policies.