By Al-Fassel | 2024-01-29

In defiance of international warnings calling on them to stop, the Houthis continued to carry out missile and drone attacks and threaten commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over the weekend.

Their backer, Iran, also continued to threaten ships in regional waterways, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday (January 28) seizing a "foreign oil tanker" near Iran's southern coast, AFP reported.

According to Iran's Tasnim news agency, the vessel carried the flag of "a country from Oceania." Fourteen crew members from "two Asian countries" were detained, it added, without specifying their nationalities.

The incident was the latest in a string of weekend attacks in regional waterways that began Friday afternoon.

At approximately 1:30pm local time Friday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen toward the US destroyer USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

USS Carney successfully shot down the missile.

Later Friday, at approximately 7:45pm, the Houthis fired another anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged Bermuda-owned tanker M/V Marlin Luanda in the Gulf of Aden.

Marlin Luanda is transporting for commercial use a cargo of Naphtha, a highly flammable liquid hydrogen mixture, CENTCOM said in a Saturday statement.

Following the missile strike, a major fire ensued in one of the cargo holds.

Marlin Luanda issued a distress call, and USS Carney, the French Navy Frigate FS Alsace and Indian Navy Frigate INS Visakhapatnam all responded quickly, providing critical firefighting material and assistance to the civilian crew, it said.

The Indian Navy said a fire-fighting team of 10 Indian naval personnel battled the blaze for six hours along with the ship's crew before bringing it under control, AFP reported.

"The multinational crew, the lives of which the Houthis endangered, was made up of 22 Indian and 1 Bangladeshi crew members," CENTCOM said.

"Thanks to this rapid response by the US, Indian and French navies, the fire is now extinguished," it said. "There were no casualties in the attack, the ship remains seaworthy, and has returned to its previous course."

"Many thanks to our Combined Maritime Forces partners for their great teamwork at sea, averting a disaster that threatened lives and the seaworthiness of the ship and risked major environmental damage."

Attacks on British, US ships

On Saturday, British warship HMS Diamond "successfully repelled a drone attack from the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea," British Minister of Defense Grant Shapps said in a statement posted on X.

"Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her, with no injuries sustained or damage to her or her crew," he said.

"These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable, and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," he added.

Later Saturday, US forces conducted a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch, CENTCOM said.

"US forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region," it said.

"US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense," it added. "This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels."

On Wednesday, the Houthis fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen toward M/V Maersk Detroit, a US-flagged commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

One missile impacted in the sea, CENTCOM said. The two other missiles were successfully engaged and shot down by US destroyer USS Gravely, it added.

"It obviously underscores that the Houthis still intend to conduct these attacks, which means we're obviously still going to have to do what we have to do to protect that shipping," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Harassment of commercial vessels

Also Wednesday, Danish shipping giant Maersk said two ships belonging to a US subsidiary heading towards the Red Sea had turned back after explosions nearby in a zone where there have been attacks by the Houthis.

The company said Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake were transiting Bab al-Mandeb with a US Navy escort when they heard explosions, AFP reported.

"En route, both ships reported seeing explosions close by and the US Navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles," Maersk said in a statement.

"The crew, ship and cargo are safe and unharmed. The US Navy has turned both ships around and is escorting them back to the Gulf of Aden," it added.

Following the Houthis' attacks on commercial and military vessels, a number of major shipping firms have diverted away from the Red Sea, instead taking the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Maersk also made this decision in early January, however the Maersk Detroit and the Maersk Chesapeake, sailing under US flags, are operated by Maersk's US subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited (MLL).

Following the incident, MLL said it also would suspend all traffic in the region until further notice, the Danish shipping company said.

Avoiding the region and diverting transit via the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa, to connect Europe to Asia, considerably lengthens delivery times and freight rates.

The increases follow difficult years for the industry during the Covid pandemic, when freight rates reached unprecedented levels due to blockages in supply chains.

Houthis ramp up propaganda

The Houthis on Saturday released an 18-minute video showing fighters in military fatigues conducting military drills against hypothetical targets.

Published by one of the group's propaganda arms, the video shows fighters using rocket-propelled grenades to strike buildings, Humvees and tanks.

The Iran-backed group has meanwhile turned the Galaxy Leader cargo ship it captured in November into a domestic "tourist attraction," AFP reported Monday.

For about $1 per trip, male-only groups of visitors can board wooden boats five times a week to the hijacked car carrier, which the Houthis consider a trophy.

Onboard the ship, visitors chewed qat and took pictures with their phones, as some performed a traditional dance featuring the daggers that many Yemenis carry tucked into their belts, accompanied by chants glorifying the Houthis.

On the deck of the Galaxy Leader, none of the visitors interviewed by AFP said they had seen the 25 crew members who are Bulgarian, Filipino, Ukrainian and Mexican and whose fate remains unknown.

Several days after detaining the vessel, the Houthis published a video showing a military general welcoming a group they said was the crew, but the Houthis have not provided any information on their fate since.