By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-19

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday (December 18) announced the establishment of a new multinational security initiative in the Red Sea, as the Houthis continued to attack commercial vessels in the strategic waterway.

Operation Prosperity Guardian will operate under the auspices of the 39-member Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and the leadership of its Combined Task Force 153 (CTF 153), which focuses on security in the Red Sea, he said.

The initiative brings together countries including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

It aims to ensure freedom of navigation for all countries and bolster regional security and prosperity, Austin said in a statement announcing the move.

"The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law," he said.

"The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade," Austin said.

"Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters."

"This is an international challenge that demands collective action," Austin said.

Freedom of navigation

During his trip to the Middle East, Austin convened a virtual ministerial meeting with representatives from 43 countries, as well as from the European Union and NATO, the Pentagon said.

Ministers, chiefs of defense and senior representatives discussed the increased threat to maritime security in the Red Sea.

Austin reaffirmed the United States' commitment to freedom of navigation and to the free flow of commerce in the region's waterways and pointed out the ways in which Houthi attacks are destabilizing maritime security.

The attacks already have impacted the global economy, he said, and will continue to threaten commercial shipping if the international community does not come together to address the issue collectively.

Top US military officials, including US Central Command's Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla and US Naval Forces Central Command's Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, said the Houthis had conducted over 100 drone and ballistic missile attacks.

These attacks targeted 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different nations, they said during a briefing to the ministerial participants.

They noted that the 25-member international crew of the merchant vessel Galaxy Leader, taken hostage by the Houthis on November 19, remain unjustly detained in Yemen.

Austin urged participants to join US-led and other international initiatives and work with US Naval Forces Central Command and the CMF to restore security in the Red Sea and deter future Houthi aggression.

Fresh attacks on tankers

The Houthis have escalated attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks, imperiling a transit route that carries up to 12% of global trade.

The Iran-backed group on Monday said it had attacked two "Israeli-linked" vessels in the Red Sea with naval drones, as more major shipping companies halt transit through the waterway, AFP reported.

The attacks on the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic and the MSC Clara are the latest in a flurry of maritime incidents that are disrupting global trade.

CENTCOM said the Swan Atlantic "was attacked by a one-way attack drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen."

It said the guided missile destroyer USS Carney "responded to assess damage."

At approximately the same time, "the bulk cargo ship (merchant vessel) MV Clara reported an explosion in the water near their location," CENTCOM said.

No casualties were reported in either attack, it added.

The Swan Atlantic's owner, Norway's Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a statement the ship was carrying biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island.

It said the vessel, managed by a Singaporean firm, has "no Israeli link," adding that the Indian crew were unharmed and the vessel sustained limited damage.

Maritime security crisis

Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), France's CMA CGM, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, Belgium's Euronav and Denmark's A.P Moller-Maersk have all stopped using the Red Sea until further notice.

British oil giant BP suspended transit through the Red Sea on Monday, while Taiwan 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.

That route is far longer and uses more fuel.

The Red Sea attacks have forced insurance companies to significantly increase premiums on ships, making it uneconomical for some to transit through the Suez Canal.

The Houthis on Tuesday doubled down on their actions, saying in a post on X that they would not halt attacks on Red Sea shipping "no matter the sacrifice" despite the US announcement of a new maritime protection force.

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.

"These attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law," Austin told a news conference during a visit to Israel on Monday.

Austin also warned Iran against providing assistance to the Houthis.

"Iran's support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop," he said.