In the dead of night, the calm waters of the Red Sea were disrupted by an act of aggression that signals a heightening of regional tensions. Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile which struck the Greek-owned, Panama-flagged oil tanker Wind early Saturday, as confirmed by the U.S. military. This incident is the latest in a series of maritime disturbances attributed to the Houthi militia, drawing global concern for the safety of key shipping lanes.
According to the U.S. Central Command, the attack occurred around 1 a.m.. The missile strike led to “flooding which resulted in the of loss propulsion and steering,” but the ship’s crew managed to restore functionality, with no casualties reported as the tanker resumed its course under its own power.
The maritime security firm Ambrey and the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center echoed the assertions of the U.S. military, noting that the assault caused a fire aboard the Wind. The exact location of the strike was not immediately provided by U.S. Central Command. However, Agence-France Presse reported that the incident occurred near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, southwest of the Yemeni port of Mokha, based on information from Ambrey.
The backdrop to this precarious incident is the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which the Houthi rebels have leveraged as a pretext for their maritime attacks. The Houthi militia has been disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding an end to what they perceive as Israeli aggression, which has led to a significant toll on Palestinian lives.
The U.S. Maritime Administration has documented over 50 attacks on shipping by the Houthis since November, including the seizure and sinking of vessels. The Houthis have notoriously claimed to have shot down a U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen with a surface-to-air missile just days prior to the strike on the Wind.
The Houthis’ continued targeting of maritime traffic, sometimes taking hours or days to claim responsibility, has caused international trade vessels to seek alternate, longer routes, effectively sidestepping the Suez Canal to circumvent potential threats. This shift has had a considerable impact on global shipping, increasing both costs and transit times significantly.
U.S. and UK forces, with support from allied countries, have conducted joint airstrikes in response, aiming to cripple Houthi capabilities. The U.S. military also performs “self-defense strikes” against Houthi armaments in preparation for such attacks. Despite a recent decrease in Houthi offensives due to these countermeasures, the threat to shipping persists, keeping the frequency of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden passage at a low.
Relevant articles:
– Yemen’s Houthi rebels launch a missile that strikes an oil tanker in the Red Sea, US military says , ABC News, 05/19/2024
– Houthi missile strikes Greek-owned oil tanker in Red Sea, U.S. says, CBS News, 05/18/2024
– An oil tanker going from Russia to China is hit by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea, U.S. military says, Fortune, 05/18/2024
– Houthi rebels strike Greek oil tanker in Red Sea: US, Washington Examiner, 05/19/2024
– Latest Houthi strike in Red Sea hits oil tanker: US officials, The Hill, 05/18/2024
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