Dec 18, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Yemen's
Houthi movement attacked two commercial ships in the Red Sea with naval drones
on Monday, the Iran-backed group said, the latest in a surge of attacks over
Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea identified the vessels as the MSC Clara and Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic, and said the attacks were carried out after their crews failed to respond to calls from the group.
The Swan
Atlantic's owner said the ship had been struck by an unidentified object but
none of the crew was hurt.
The MSC
Clara is a Panama-flagged vessel, according to LSEG data. Details of the attack
on the vessel were not immediately known.
The Houthis
say they have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea with links to Israel in
protest at its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, and have warned
against sailing towards the area.
The attacks
have caused concerns about the impact on the passage of oil, grain and other
goods on what is an important global trade route, and have pushed up the cost
of insuring and shipping goods through the Red Sea.
Soon after
the latest attacks, London's insurance market widened the area in the Red Sea
it deems as high risk.
Taiwan's
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation said it would divert any of its ships
sailing through the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden via the Cape of Good Hope for the
next two weeks.
Norway-based
oil tanker group Frontline said its vessels would also start avoiding passages
through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
"War
risk insurance premiums are on the rise naturally, but as vessels gets
re-routed around Africa shipping supply will be tighter as cargoes travel
longer. That would put rates under a strong upwards pressure," CEO Lars
Barstad told Reuters.
The
announcement followed decisions by two major freight firms including MSC, the
world's biggest container shipping line, to avoid the Suez Canal in response to
the attacks by Houthi forces, which control most of Yemen, a poor Arab state.
The Suez
Canal shipping route, which leads to the Red Sea, is a vital waterway for
global trade, used to transport energy and other goods between Europe and Asia,
and elsewhere. The route saves on time and expense by avoiding having to
navigate around the entire Africa continent.
ONBOARD
FIRE
Confirming
Monday's attack on the Swan Atlantic, U.S. officials told Reuters multiple
projectiles had been launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
All the
ship's system were operating normally although the water tank had been damaged
in the attack, said Oystein Elgan, chief executive of owner Inventor Chemical
Tankers.
Inventor
Chemical Tankers had no Israeli ties, Elgan said.
The
vessel's operator, Uni-Tankers, said the attack had caused a small fire which
the crew brought under control, and that the ship, carrying vegetable oils,
continued to Reunion Island.
A British
maritime authority said it had received a report of a vessel that
"experienced an explosion" on its port side in an attack 24 nautical
miles north west of Yemen's Mokha port.
The vessel
and crew were reported safe, it said in an advisory. The incident described by
the UKMTO advisory was similar to those of the attack on the Swan Atlantic.
The United
Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority said in a separate advisory
it had received a report of a vessel 24 nautical miles southeast of Mokha as
being approached by a craft with several armed personnel onboard.
Warning
shots were fired from the vessel and the craft with the armed personnel on
board changed course, the advisory said.
The UKMTO
authority said in other advisories it had received reports of an incident 63
nautical miles northwest of Djibouti and another incident in the vicinity of
the Bab Al Mandab strait, 30 nautical miles south of the port Mokha.
The Houthis
have pledged to continue their attacks until Israel stops its assault, but said
on Saturday that real steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip
would contribute to "reducing the escalation". They also said that
they were in Oman-mediated talks about its sea "operations".
That was
the first indication that the militia group may be willing to de-escalate. The
U.S. has said it is seeking an expanded coalition to protect ships in the Red
Sea and to send a signal to the Houthis, who have also fired drones and
missiles at Israel since it began its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas
rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Reuters
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