The Yemeni Armed Forces, supported by Iran and led by the Houthi, said in a statement on Thursday (14) that its naval forces attacked a cargo ship when it was “heading towards the Israeli entity”.
The Houthis said the attack was carried out by a drone, resulting in a direct strike, and that it occurred after the ship’s crew allegedly refused to respond to calls from Yemen’s naval forces.
Danish shipping company Maersk said it was “deeply concerned” about the incident involving its ship, the Maersk Gibraltar, and that the ship was traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Maersk said the crew and ship were considered safe but that it was “still working to establish the facts of the incident.” Maersk Gibraltar operates between Europe and the Middle East and sails under the Hong Kong flag, the company said in the statement.
Maersk has condemned the growing trend of attacks on commercial ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
“The recent attacks on commercial ships in the Bad al-Mandab Strait are extremely worrying. The current situation puts sailors’ lives at risk and is unsustainable for global trade,” Maersk said.
US Central Command said in a statement it was monitoring the situation but did not involve US forces. A ballistic missile was fired toward the international shipping lane from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen on Thursday before the Houthis contacted the cargo ship, threatening further attacks, according to U.S. Central Command.
Other activities ecents: Over the past 48 hours, the Houthi armed forces have successfully prevented the passage of several ships bound for Israel, according to a Houthi statement.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from sailing in the Arabian and Red Seas until they bring the food and medicine that our faithful brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” the statement read.
Houthi forces also attempted to board a commercial tanker on Wednesday in the Red Sea, US Central Command said in a statement on Thursday.
In November, the Houthis seized an Israeli-linked commercial vessel in the Red Sea.
The context: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are a Shiite political and military organization that has been waging a civil war against a Saudi-backed coalition since 2014.
There has been an increase in its maritime activities since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, and the group said that any ship heading towards Israel was a “legitimate target”.
In the coming days, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will address strengthening the international response to the Houthi threat to shipping in the Red Sea, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview Thursday with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 News.
“What the Houthis are doing is a threat, not just to Israel, but to the entire international community. It is a threat to freedom of navigation. It is a threat to commercial transportation. It’s a threat at a critical point, a critical artery in global commerce,” Sullivan said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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