By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-15

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday (December 15) accused the Houthis of threatening "freedom of navigation to commercial shipping," as the Iran-backed group claimed a new series of attacks and insurance costs jumped.

Some 40% of international trade, including massive oil and goods shipments, passes through Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, where the Houthis have been attacking vessels of various nationalities.

"The United States is working with the international community, with partners from the region and from all over the world to deal with this threat," Sullivan said, pointing to the hand of Iran behind its proxies, the Houthis.

The European Union (EU) said it "strongly condemns the latest Houthi missile attacks," and stressed the need for international and regional cooperation to counter the threats to peace and security.

"The numerous attacks originating from Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen threaten international navigation and maritime security, in grave contravention of international law," the EU said in a Wednesday statement.

Describing the attacks as "unacceptable," it called on the Houthis to refrain from further threats and attacks to international shipping lanes, and appealed to all states to refrain from facilitation or encouragement of the group in its illegal activities.

It noted that attacks on international vessels "undermine Yemen's security, including food security, as most of the country's food imports transit through the Red Sea."

Human Rights Watch also condemned the attacks in a Wednesday statement, saying they "constitute targeting of civilians and civilian objects, which, if carried out deliberately or recklessly, would be a war crime."

Insurance costs for ships transiting the area have jumped in recent days, amounting to increases in the tens of thousands of dollars for larger ships, reports say.

Houthis attack cargo ship

The Houthis struck a cargo ship in the Red Sea on Friday, causing a fire on deck in the latest of a near-daily series of attacks in the commercially vital waterway.

"We are aware that something launched from a Houthi-controlled region of Yemen struck this vessel which was damaged, and there was a report of a fire," a US defense official told AFP.

The official identified the ship as the Liberia-flagged Al-Jasrah, a container ship.

The vessel, owned by German transport company Hapag-Lloyd, "sustained physical damage from an aerial attack" north of the Yemeni coastal city of Mokha, British maritime risk management company Ambrey said.

"The projectile reportedly hit the port side of the vessel and one container fell overboard due to the impact. The projectile caused a fire on deck" that was reported over radio, Ambrey said.

A Hapag-Lloyd spokesman confirmed there had been "an attack on one of our ships" as it was en route from the Greek port of Piraeus to Singapore.

There were no casualties and the ship is now traveling on toward its destination, he added.

Bulk carrier boarded in Arabian Sea

In a separate incident, a Bulgaria-owned bulk carrier was reportedly boarded in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen, Ambrey said Thursday.

Shipping company Navibulgar confirmed that one of its vessels, The Ruen, "is the subject of a security incident 380 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra, Yemen" but did not provide further details, AFP reported.

Company chief Aleksander Kalchev told local media that contact with the vessel was lost in waters that had not been known previously for pirate attacks.

"The Malta-flagged bulk carrier was reportedly boarded," Ambrey said.

An Iran-flagged fishing vessel that previously had been operating off Somalian shores had switched off its AIS transponder six hours prior to the incident, close to where the bulk carrier appeared to come adrift, it added.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) also issued a boarding warning on Thursday, saying it received a report of a distress call from a vessel "being boarded by unknown persons."

The incident occurred "approximately 700 nautical miles east of Bossaso, Somalia," it said, advising vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

"Our priority is to guarantee the safety of the 18-men multinational crew," Navibulgar said in a statement.

Houthis fire at merchant vessel

At noon on Thursday, a ballistic missile was fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen toward the international shipping lane north of Bab al-Mandeb, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

There were no injuries or damage to the Hong Kong-flagged merchant vessel (M/V) Maersk Gibraltar, it said.

"Following the missile launch, the M/V Maersk Gibraltar was hailed by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks," CENTCOM said.

"While this incident did not involve US forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation," it said. "These attacks continue to threaten international maritime security."

Danish shipping giant Maersk confirmed no one was hurt in the incident involving its ship, which was sailing from Salalah, Oman to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"The crew and vessel is reported safe," Maersk said in a statement, adding that the company was "still working to establish the facts of the incident."

"The recent attacks on commercial vessels... are extremely concerning," it said.

"The current situation puts seafarer lives at risk and is unsustainable for global trade. As it cannot be solved by the global shipping industry on its own, we call on political action to ensure a swift de-escalation."

Ambrey said the Marshall Islands-owned ship was fired upon 45 nautical miles off the coast of Mocha, and also said the crew was unharmed.

"Ambrey understands that the parent company has cooperated with an Israeli carrier but this particular vessel was not assessed to be Israeli-operated at the time of writing," the firm said in a statement.

The Houthis previously said they would target any ships traveling off the coast of Yemen bound for Israel, irrespective of ownership.

As they did with several other vessels recently, the Houthis first ordered the ship to dock in a Yemeni port before firing on it when it did not comply, Ambrey said.