By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-14

As the Houthis on Wednesday (December 13) launched a fresh volley of attacks on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, the Iranian regime issued a threat to the ship's defenders and asserted its dominance over the strategic waterway.

Houthi gunmen in speedboats on Wednesday morning approached and fired on the Marshall Islands-flagged motor vessel Ardmore Encounter in the southern Red Sea, and then attempted to board the ship, various sources reported.

The Ardmore Encounter, traveling from Mangalore, India, was loaded with jet fuel, and had an armed security crew on board, the Associated Press reported.

The attack was the first time the Houthis have targeted an energy shipment heading to the Suez Canal, it said.

US guided-missile destroyer USS Mason responded to a mayday call from the Ardmore Encounter, which was under attack from Houthi forces, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on X.

"These forces first attempted to board the tanker via skiffs," it said.

"When this was unsuccessful, a pair of missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at the vessel, which both missed."

"While responding to the distress call, the Mason shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) [drone] also launched from Houthi-controlled areas," it said.

"The UAV was heading directly towards the Mason and was shot down in self-defense," it said. "There were no injuries to personnel and no damage to any vessels. The Ardmore Encounter was able to proceed without further incident."

Iranian threats

According to Fleetmon, an automatic identification system (AIS) map maritime tracker of ships at sea, the Ardmore Encounter was transiting the southern Red Sea some 50 nautical miles west of al-Hodeidah, when a boat approached the tanker and opened fire.

"Security guards on board exchanged fire with attackers, and they fled," it said.

Later, the tanker was called by an entity "which claimed itself to be Yemeni authority, and demanded tanker to sail to Yemeni waters," per Fleetmon.

The tanker continued sailing, and two missiles were fired from the Yemeni coast, it said.

Global maritime risk management firm Ambrey said the tanker had been hailed by an entity claiming to be the Yemeni navy asking the ship to alter course, but a nearby warship advised the vessel to maintain course, Reuters reported.

"Crew are safe, tanker continued voyage from India to northern Europe, with cargo of jet fuel," Fleetmon reported.

An Israeli businessman reportedly had a 5% share in the tanker's ownership, it said, "and that was enough for Houthis to attack her."

"Houthis continue to attack international shipping focusing on ships which in their opinion have a link to Israeli interests or nationals," Jakob Larsen, head of safety and security at shipping association BIMCO, told Reuters.

"The safety implications to international shipping are considerable and very concerning," Larsen said. "It is pure luck no seafarers have been killed yet."

Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani meanwhile threatened that a US effort to boost a multinational force to protect shipping in the Red Sea would face "extraordinary problems," Al-Jazeera reported Thursday.

"If they make such an irrational move, they will be faced with extraordinary problems," Ashtiani told the official Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

"Nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance," he said, referring to the Red Sea.

'Unpredictable and dangerous'

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the Houthis have threatened to attack any ship heading to Israeli ports and stepped up their raids, AFP reported.

On Tuesday, the Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a Norwegian-flagged tanker, and last month, the Houthis seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader, and its 25 international crew.

US and French warships patrolling the Red Sea have shot down Houthi missiles and drones several times since the militants began the attacks.

A vital link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea is a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies.

Some 40% of international trade passes through Bab al-Mandeb, a narrow waterway which separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa.

While warships passing through the Red Sea are well equipped and can retaliate, commercial vessels do not have the same protections.

Iran has been accused of supplying the Houthis with drones, missiles and other weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

The Houthis say they manufacture their drones domestically, although analysts say they contain smuggled Iranian components.

"The big question of course is the exact nature of Iranian involvement in these strikes," said Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Houthi equipment is mostly Iranian technology, but we know very little about Tehran's involvement in decision-making," he said.

"The Houthis are totally unpredictable and dangerous. And the processes that trigger war are always unpredictable," Franck Mermier, a Yemen expert at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, told AFP.

"So far the Houthis have struck without attracting massive retaliation, but it can get out of hand," he said.