RECENT WEEKS HAVE seen Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalate their attacks on cargo ships and tankers passing through the Red Sea. Five of the world’s six largest shipping companies have halted operations in the area as a result.
The Houthis, who control much of western Yemen including the capital Sana’a, have declared their support for Palestine and promised to attack any Israel-bound ship that passes through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and facilitates about 12% of global trade.
Today, the Houthis announced they would not halt attacks on Red Sea shipping following an announcement by the United States of a new 11-nation maritime force aimed at countering them.
The group said the attacks will continue until sufficient aid is allowed to enter Gaza.
“Even if America succeeds in mobilising the entire world, our military operations will not stop… no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said on X, formerly Twitter.
The Houthi’s military spokesperson Yahya Sare’e has made similar statements on X.
1-With the help of God Almighty, the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation against two ships linked to the Zionist entity. The first was the oil carrier “Swan Atlantic”, and the other was the “MSC Clara” ship, carrying containers.
— Yahya Sare'e (@Yahya_Saree) December 18, 2023
However, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers said in a statement that its ship, which was attacked on Friday, was carrying biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island.
It said the vessel has “no Israeli link” and was managed by a Singaporean firm, adding that the Indian crew were unharmed and the vessel sustained limited damage.
The US-led security coalition was announced yesterday by defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who said it will operate “with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity”.
The group includes the United States, United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, Austin said.
Notably, Bahrain is the only country in the region to join the force. This is despite fellow Arab states Saudi Arabia and the UAE fighting against the Houthis – with US and UK support – as recently as April last year.
On Saturday, a US destroyer shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea launched from rebel-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military said.
Britain said one of its destroyers had also brought down a suspected attack drone in the area.
Yesterday, British oil giant BP became the latest company to suspend transit through the Red Sea, while Taiwanese shipping firm Evergreen said it was suspending its Israeli cargo shipments with immediate effect.
Frontline, one of the world’s largest tanker companies, also said it was rerouting ships and would “only allow new business” that could be routed via South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, a much longer and more costly route.
These suspensions follow similar announcements from shipping companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, which both said they were pausing operations on Friday in response to drone attacks on two ships in the strait. Maersk alone accounts for about 15% of global container freight.
In response to the uncertain situation, insurance companies have significantly increased premiums on ships, making it prohibitive for some to pass through the commercially vital Suez Canal.
Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM and Belgium’s Euronav have also halted voyages through the Red Sea.
The attacks have become “a maritime security crisis” with “commercial and economic implications in the region and beyond”, Torbjorn Soltvedt of analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft told AFP.
The Houthis, a Shiite Islamist movement, are supported by regional power Iran.
US officials have made it clear they believe Iran is behind the attacks, with US national security advisor Jake Sullivan saying last week that “while the Houthis are pulling the trigger, so to speak, they’re being handed the gun by Iran”.
Yesterday, Austin said that “Iran’s support for the Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop”.
Includes reporting from AFP
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