Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out a new attack on Friday (December 15th) on a ship in the Red Sea, in a maritime area crucial to international maritime trade where they pose a "threat" that the United States and its partners intend to confront. The Houthis, who are close to Iran, had warned that they would target any ship sailing off the coast of Yemen with ties to Israel in retaliation for the war between Israel and the Palestinian terror movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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We know that something, which was fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, hit a ship that was damaged and that a fire was reported," a US military official told AFP, a day after a similar attack on a cargo ship claimed by the rebels.
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Fire, but no casualties
The UK's maritime safety agency UKMTO also reported that a ship had been hit by "an unknown object", starting a fire, with no casualties. According to the intelligence firm Ambrey, it is a Liberian-flagged container ship, owned by the German company Hapag-Lloyd AG. "There was an attack on one of our ships," a company spokesman confirmed to AFP, adding that it was on its way to Singapore from the Greek port of Piraeus.
There were no injuries and the ship is continuing on its way to its destination, according to the same source. According to Ambrey, the German company has offices in the Israeli ports of Ashdod, Haifa and Tel Aviv. On a visit to Israel, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that Yemen's Houthi rebels "pose a concrete threat to free navigation" in the Red Sea. "The United States is working with the international community and our partners in the region to address this threat," he told reporters in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli officials.
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Iranian Defence Minister Mohammed Reza Ashtiani warned on Wednesday (December 13th) against a possible deployment of multinational forces in the Red Sea. "If they make such an irrational decision, they will face extraordinary problems," he told the official ISNA news agency. "No one can act in a region where we are predominant," he added.
Some 20,000 ships travel each year on this maritime route linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. The Houthis are stepping up their attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, through which 40% of international trade passes. Several missiles and drones have been shot down by U.S. and French warships patrolling the area.
The Red Sea now bypassed
The increased risks in the Red Sea have pushed some boats with Israeli connections (owner, destination...) to bypass it and increased insurance costs, according to experts. On Thursday, the rebels claimed responsibility for a "military operation against a container ship, the Maersk Gibraltar," which was en route to Israel. A U.S. official, however, said the missile missed its target and fell into the water.
The Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen but are not recognized by the international community, are, like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, members of the Iranian-backed "axis of resistance" against Israel.
They reiterated on Thursday that they would "continue to prevent the passage of ships bound for Israeli ports" until food and medicine enter the Gaza Strip, which has been bombed and besieged by Israel in response to Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.