Dems rip Biden for launching Houthi strikes without congressional approval

[seminole97]

Unmanned Houthi submarines pose new threat to US warships in Red Sea​

The Iran-backed group attacked with one for the first time on Sunday.

The U.S. conducted what it called self-defense strikes on five targets in the Houthi-controlled area of Yemen after the Houthis employed an unmanned submarine for the first time since attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden began, the Pentagon said.

The submarine, an unmanned underwater vessel, or UUV, shows advancing Houthi capability and a shifting strategy, ABC News national security and defense analyst Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official and CIA agent, said.

"Unmanned surface and subsurface vessels are likely more difficult to detect and destroy than aerial drones and anti-ship missiles. The Houthis are not likely capable of manufacturing these weapons on their own, so they are probably coming from Iran," Mulroy said.

In addition to the unmanned submarine hit Sunday, the U.S.military said it struck an unmanned vessel that moves on the surface, as well as anti-ship cruise missiles which have made up the bulk of U.S. targets in the Houthi arsenal.

The Houthis, which the U.S. designates a global terrorist group with Iran's backing, operate out of parts of Yemen they control after a cease-fire in the Yemeni civil war. The International Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, an arm of the Iranian regime's military forces that coordinates operations outside Iran's borders, supports the Houthis and other armed groups with weapons and financing, the U.S. says.

"The Houthis and the IRGC are adjusting their strategy, apparently because they haven't been successful in striking a U.S. naval vessel," Mulroy said. The Houthis have targeted American ships to no avail, while the U.S. has been increasing defensive strikes since a separate militia group, also backed by Iran, struck the U.S. base in Jordan and killed three servicemembers.

"If one or more of these weapons get through and kill U.S. sailors, Iran should expect to be held directly responsible," said Mulroy.

The unmanned weapons systems are an acute threat, Mulroy said, since they could "overwhelm the ship's defenses" by attacking from multiple dimensions, a so-called "swarm attack."

The U.S. Coast Guard said it intercepted a cache of weapons aboard a ship heading from Iran to Houthi-controlled Yemen on Jan. 15. Among military equipment intercepted were components for the unmanned vessels, the U.S. said – the sort of vessels hit in two of Sunday's U.S. strikes.

As a part of U.S. preemptive offensives to Houthi aggression, a U.S. official told ABC News the U.S. conducted a cyberattack against an Iranian spy vessel, the MV Behshad, which has cruised the Red Sea and passed targeting information to the Houthis. The cyberattack was a part of the U.S. promised multi-tiered response in the days after the January 28 militia attack in Jordan.

The Houthis on Monday said they conducted five strikes in the past 24 hours. Two targeted American ships in the Gulf of Aden and another targeted and sunk a British ship, the Houthis said in a statement.

 

[EasyHawk]

😢

 

[seminole97]

😢

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"Far left"?!?

The dude's name is Khalid Turaani.

Does someone need help figuring out why he wants to punish Biden for supporting Israel in their war?

 

[tumorboy]

😢

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These are the same idiots that voted for Jill Stein. They’ll probably vote for Cornel West this time around.

 

[seminole97]

These are the same idiots that voted for Jill Stein. They’ll probably vote for Cornel West this time around.

You honest to god think that man is “left wing”?

You don’t think he’s voting on purely ethnic lines?

 

[seminole97]

DUBAI/ADEN/LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.

The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group’s leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters – including with new “submarine weapons” -to mirror Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November in support of Palestinians, as the Israel-Hamas war continues and the Gaza death toll reaches almost 30,000.

“Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi added in a televised speech. He gave no details of the submarine weapons.

The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal trade shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, and forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

The Houthis on Thursday sent shippers and insurers formal notice of what they termed a ban on vessels linked to Israel, the U.S. and Britain from sailing in surrounding seas, seeking to reinforce their military campaign.

The Houthis’ communication, the first to the shipping industry outlining a ban, came in the form of two notices from the Houthis’ newly dubbed Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center sent to shipping insurers and firms. The aim is to force sailing companies to collaborate with the Houthis to guarantee the safety of their ships,

Ships owned by individuals or entities in Israel, the U.S. and U.K. or sailing under their flags are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, Thursday’s notices said.

“The Humanitarian Operations Center was established in Sanaa to coordinate the safe and peaceful passage of ships and vessels that have no connection to Israel,” a senior Houthi official told Reuters on Thursday.

The months of attacks have upset global trade and reset shipping rates at a higher level. Insurance sources on Thursday said there was no change in rates since the issuance of the advisories because marine underwriters had already restricted coverage availability or increased rates.

“In terms or marine war insurance availability and pricing, we don’t see a significant effect from the Houthi group’s recent announcement since it echoed similar announcements from last year to target Israel, U.S. and UK-linked vessels,” Marcos Alvarez, managing director, global insurance ratings, Morningstar DBRS, told Reuters.

Militant leader al-Houthi said retaliatory strikes by the U.S.-British coalition have failed to stop its campaign.

Earlier on Thursday, two missiles set ablaze a ship some 70 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said. The vessel and crew were reported safe and are proceeding to the next port of call, it said in a later update.

That UK-owned, Palau-flagged ship, the Islander, was en route to Egypt from Thailand, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey and ship tracking data.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said in a social media post that the U.S. shot down six Houthi drones in the Red Sea after they were identified as an imminent threat to U.S. and allied warships.

No ships have been sunk nor crew killed during the Houthi campaign. However there are concerns about the fate of the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel, which was struck on Feb. 18 and its crew evacuated.

The Houthis said the Rubymar was at risk of sinking but a U.S. defense official said it remained afloat.

Rubymar is “sitting lower still in the water,” Ambrey said. A salvage attempt was aborted and a navigation warning to nearby ships was in place, the firm said. Other options are under consideration, the vessel’s security company ISS-SAPU said.

 

[seminole97]

CNN
The Biden administration is struggling to stop the ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis against ships in the Red Sea and the group is continuing to fortify its weapons stockpile inside Yemen, even though the US has carried out significant strikes on the group in recent weeks, US officials told CNN.

“We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday, hours after the Houthis hit yet another cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles. “They are very capable, they have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.”

US officials have been grappling with how to increase the pressure on the Houthis, with some inside the administration arguing that the use of force alone is not working. It is also extremely expensive and impractical, some officials note, to keep firing multimillion-dollar missiles at cheap Houthi drones and missiles.

Outside the administration, some former officials argue the administration has taken too conservative of an approach altogether and needs to focus on targeting Houthi leaders rather than their weapon stocks.

The US strategy for confronting the Houthis has shifted since the attacks began in October insofar as US Central Command has begun regularly striking Houthi weaponry inside Yemen pre-emptively, when the US can see systems being prepared to launch.

But multiple officials told CNN that the US still does not have “a denominator” that would allow them to assess the percentage of Houthi equipment they have actually destroyed, and it is not clear whether the US will shift its military approach further.

“They continue to surprise us,” said one senior defense official, referring to the Houthis. “We just don’t have a good idea of what they still have.”

Houthis digging in​

While the US has hit dozens of Houthi targets inside Yemen since January—including command and control nodes and weapons storage facilities—the Houthis are in turn digging in, officials said, building tunnels near Yemen’s western coast and more regularly staying underground.

Some inside the administration say it is a positive sign that the Houthis appear to be spending more time underground between attacks—they are being forced to hide, which suggests that the military strikes are having at least a psychological impact.

The Houthis are also extremely concerned about their senior leadership being targeted in a strike and have become increasingly paranoid, two officials said.

For some former US officials who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity, the fact that the US has not yet hit Houthi leadership and has instead focused on destroying weapons and equipment is a large part of why the US has failed to meaningfully deter the group.

“The US campaign against the Houthis appears to bear the hallmarks of many of these highly circumscribed, scrubbed campaigns of the past where we seek to avoid causing them actual pain,” said one former US military official.

Former officials point to the apparent success the administration has had in deterring Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria by striking their leaders. After these militants killed three Americans in Jordan in January, the US carried out a strike inside Baghdad on February 7 that killed two key militia commanders. The attacks have since stopped entirely, the Pentagon has said. Officials also believe Iran instructed the groups to back off the attacks following the US strikes.

The issue is becoming more acute, especially given the notable increase in Houthi attacks over the last two days. The Houthis’ deployment for the first-time last week of an unmanned underwater drone also alarmed US officials.

That drone was ultimately destroyed by US forces. But unmanned surface and subsurface vessels are “more of an unknown threat” that could be “extremely lethal,” Rear Admiral Marc Miguez, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 2, told CNN last week. He said the US has “very little fidelity as to all the stockpiles the Houthis have” of those kinds of weapons.

It’s also unclear whether the Biden administration could meaningfully ramp up its military action against Houthi targets, in particular to target Houthi leaders inside of Yemen, without first grappling with some of the open questions around the legality of the campaign. Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have questioned whether the Biden administration would need authorization from Congress to carry on the campaign past a 60-day limit imposed by the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Theoretically, that 60-day deadline could expire March 12, two months after the first major strikes the administration carried out inside of Yemen itself.

Houthi attacks could stop if Gaza war ends, some officials believe​

The US, some argue, now needs to shift to a stronger international pressure campaign and better underscore how the attacks are impeding humanitarian aid shipments to vulnerable populations—including the people of Yemen.

The Houthis are very concerned with their domestic public image, officials said, and have tried to cast themselves as scrappy underdogs fighting for the betterment of Palestinian lives and an end to Israel’s war in Gaza. While the Houthis are not very popular in the areas of Yemen they control, the Palestinian cause itself is popular amongst Yemenis, officials noted.

At the same time, the Houthis also crave international legitimacy, officials said, and want to be recognized as the official Yemeni government. They have fought for that for years as part of a civil war against a Saudi coalition that backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Some senior officials inside the administration therefore believe that the Houthis would keep their word and stop their attacks if Israel ended its war in Gaza, something some former officials privately say is wishful thinking.

Publicly, the administration has repeatedly downplayed the Houthis’ claims that they are attacking ships as a way to pressure Israel into a ceasefire, noting that most of the targets have no ties at all to Israel or its allies.

Privately, however, some senior officials concede it is entirely possible the Houthis will stop if Israel does—and they point to the fact that the Houthi attacks largely subsided in November during a 7-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Still, officials say they cannot wait to see whether a ceasefire materializes to respond to the Houthis’ aggression. The State Department and Pentagon have therefore been working to turn both ordinary Yemenis and the international community further against them and began more forcefully challenging the militants’ narrative this week.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller and the Pentagon’s Singh both highlighted a Houthi attack on a ship that was bringing corn and other food supplies to the Yemeni people in Aden, and Singh noted that another ship hit by a missile and currently sinking in the Red Sea was carrying fertilizer and now poses a significant environmental risk to the region.

Officials told CNN on Friday that the sinking ship, the Rubymar, has now left an 18-mile oil slick in the area. The Belize-flagged, UK-registered, Lebanese-owned vessel was carrying 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was struck on Monday, the officials said.

“The Houthis are creating an environmental hazard right in their own backyard,” Singh said on Thursday. “They’re saying that they’re conducting these attacks against ships that are connected to Israel. These are ships that are literally bringing goods, services, aid to their own people, and they’re creating their own international problem.”

One key aspect of this international pressure campaign is support from the US’ Arab allies. The US has managed to get some key regional partners on board with the operation to defend commercial shipping in the Red Sea, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, including Oman and Bahrain.

But officials say more needs to be done to convey to the Houthis that they are becoming a pariah on the global stage. Even Iran, which has long backed the Houthis but does not have perfect command and control over them, has become increasingly concerned about the rebels’ tactics, CNN previously reported.

Still, there are no signs yet that Iran is actively withholding support from the Houthis, officials said. The US has continued to interdict Iranian weapons shipments to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including as recently as earlier this month.

 

[THE_DEVIL]

....and now the village idiot chimes in.

Greene denounces Yemen strikes, pointing to Biden’s past criticism of Trump​

Greene denounces Yemen strikes, pointing to Biden’s past criticism of Trump

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) denounced U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday, calling the Biden administration “insanely out of control.” The joint U.S.-U.K. airstrikes hit a…

thehill.com

The Cramer Effect has now been deployed

 

[seminole97]

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, which monitors Middle East waterways, posted on X around 0700 ET that it had received a report of a commercial vessel attack about 15 nautical miles west of Al-Mukha, also known as Mokha, a port city in southwestern Yemen on the Red Sea coast.

"The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities. The vessel has dragged anchor and now in position 13-21.19N 042-57.64E, and is down by the stern, bows remain above waterline," UKMTO said.

 

[seminole97]

8 weeks into the campaign now:


On Wednesday we reported on the deadly Houthi missile strike on the MV True Confidence, a Liberian-owned vessel, in the Red Sea. The attack resulted in the first fatalities since the Houthi campaign against international shipping began in reaction to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Three sailors tragically died while the rest of the crew abandoned the stricken vessel as it was on fire.

The UK embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, confirmed on X: "At least two innocent sailors have died. This was the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping. They must stop." A statement by US Central Command later increased the death toll to three.

The vessel's owners and operator had said it was drifting 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden. True Confidence Shipping and Greece-based operator Third January Maritime Ltd said in a joint statement "The vessel is drifting" and that there the ship had no current connection with any US entity. However, the Indian Navy responded and was able to rescue several crew members, captured in a dramatic video below:



Reuters has confirmed Thursday that "India's navy evacuated all 20 crew from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea on Thursday, after a Houthi attack killed three seafarers in the first civilian fatalities from the Yemeni group's campaign against the key shipping route."

The vessel's owners have contacted and expressed condolences to the families. Two of the deceased were Filipino nationals, while the third was Vietnamese.

The Indian Navy conducted a daring helicopter rescue from a small life raft in choppy waters. According to more from Reuters, "Some wounded were shown lying in the bottom of a navy lifeboat sent to assist."

"They were carried on stretchers onto the ship and were shown later with heavily bandaged limbs as they were evacuated to the Djibouti hospital," the report continued.

 

[seminole97]

US Navy Repels "Large-Scale" Houthi Attack Of 15 Suicide Drones​

On Saturday Yemen's Houthis have launched what international press reports are describing as the one of the group's largest single attacks since the operation to disrupt Red Sea shipping began last November.

The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, described in a statement that a "large-scale" Houthi attack occurred in both the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden involving over a dozen suicide drones.

Coalition naval forces shot down at least 15 drones which CENTCOM said "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region."

The Houthis have long declared they are directly targeting Western coalition warships in regional waters, along with foreign commercial vessels suspected to be en route to Israeli ports.

The US military statement confirmed that "US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15" of the inbound drones. "These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”

The biggest single wave of Houthi drones launched before that included 18 drones and three missiles, in a January 9th attack.

Friday had also witnessed one of the largest single-day attacks thus far, per an account from the Houthis:

The attack on Friday targeted the bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the United States military's Central Command. "The missiles did not impact the vessel," the U.S. military said. "There were no injuries or damages reported."

The Houthis said Saturday they were behind the attack. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed that along with targeting the Propel Fortune Attack, the Houthi forces also launched 37 drones targeting American warships.

Last month and this month have been particularly devastating as a UK tanker completely sunk after being struck by missiles, and another Gulf of Aden missile strike on the Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence resulted in the deaths of three crew members.

Some have argued that given the Western coalition is clearly ineffective in stopping the Houthi attacks, the only solution to the Red Sea crisis is for a ceasefire to take effect in Gaza:

The attack on the True Confidence was the first ever fatal Houthi strike on a ship. The Shia miliary group linked to Iran has vowed to keep up the attacks so long as Israel continues its war in Gaza.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

The U.S. military and its allies shot down a flurry of at least 28 drones in the Red Sea fired by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen early Saturday, the Pentagon said.

The drones were fired over an approximately four-hour period from about 4 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. local time, U.S. Central Command reported on social media.

There were no reports of commercial or naval vessels damaged in the assault, CENTCOM said.

U.S. forces, allies shoot down more than 2 dozen Houthi drones in Red Sea

There were no reports of commercial or naval vessels damaged in the assault, U.S. Central Command reported.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

The mysterious Iranian ship accused of lining up the next Houthi targets​

Maritime experts believe the Behshad provides data to help Yemeni rebels strike vessels in Gulf of Aden
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https://www.ft.com/content/5fb8849c-b5b2-4f6f-908f-2c125159e3ce

A mysterious Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Aden faces intensifying scrutiny among maritime experts concerned that the ship is helping Houthi rebels target commercial sea traffic. The Behshad, which outwardly looks like a standard dry bulk carrier, moved to the Gulf of Aden in January after years in the Red Sea, just as attacks on vessels surged in the vital waterway off Yemen. It has since followed an unorthodox, slow and meandering course around those waters close to the entrance to the Red Sea. Experts also noted a drop in Houthi attacks during a period last month when the Behshad was seemingly out of action. Jon Gahagan, president of maritime risk specialist Sedna Global, said that for a supposed cargo vessel, the behaviour of the Behshad, registered and flagged in Iran, was “extremely unusual”. “It does ask major questions about her role in the current crisis,” he said of its movements and the links to the attacks. “If she isn’t providing the Houthi regime with intelligence on vessel movements, then just what is she doing?”

The mysterious Iranian ship accused of lining up the next Houthi targets

Maritime experts believe the Behshad provides data to help Yemeni rebels strike vessels in Gulf of Aden

www.ft.com

 

[seminole97]

 

[seminole97]

France's Aquitaine-class FREMM frigate Alsace has turned tail from the Red Sea after running out of missiles and munitions repelling attacks from the Yemeni armed forces, according to its commander, Jerome Henry.

"We didn’t necessarily expect this level of threat. There was an uninhibited violence that was quite surprising and very significant. [The Yemenis] do not hesitate to use drones that fly at water level, to explode them on commercial ships, and to fire ballistic missiles," Henry told French news outlet Le Figaro in an exclusive interview published on 11 April.



"We had to carry out at least half a dozen assistances following [Yemeni] strikes," he added. The commander of the Alsace also revealed that, after a 71-day deployment, all combat equipment was depleted.

"From the Aster missile to the 7.62 machine gun of the helicopter, including the 12.7mm, 20mm, or 76mm cannon, we dealt with three ballistic missiles and half a dozen drones," Henry adds.

According to the French commander, the Franco–Italian Aster missile – each carrying a price tag of up to $2 million – "was pushed to its limits" by the Yemeni armed forces, as the Alsace had to use it "on targets that we did not necessarily imagine at the start."

Henry added that Sanaa has markedly increased its use of ballistic missiles after relying mainly on suicide drones at the start of Yemen's pro-Palestine operations in the Red Sea and stressed that the French Navy has not faced such a tough battle since NATO collectively launched its 2011 war on Libya to depose the late ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

"I was there too. It wasn't the same thing. It has been even longer since we have engaged with this level of weaponry and violence. The threat to the boat was much greater in the Red Sea," Henry notes.

The Alsace entered the Red Sea in late January, a few weeks after the US and the UK launched an illegal war on Yemen to protect Israeli shipping interests. The frigate was deployed as part of the EU naval operation Aspides – Greek for shield.

With a mandate initially set for one year, Aspides saw the deployment of several EU warships and airborne early warning systems to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and surrounding waters. According to authorities in Brussels, the mission is exclusively defensive, and its forces are not taking part in US-led attacks against Yemen.

Aspides came together after several NATO members proved hesitant or outright refused to join the floundering Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG), which a top US commander called one of the largest battles the navy has fought since the end of World War II.

"We favor a diplomatic solution. We know that there is no military solution," US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking said earlier this month, acknowledging the futility of Washington's military strategy against the Arab world's poorest country.

According to Yemeni sources who spoke with The Cradle, US officials recently offered Sanaa "an acknowledgment of its legitimacy" in exchange for its neutrality in the ongoing war on Gaza.

"[Washington] pledged to repair the damages, remove foreign forces from all occupied Yemeni lands and islands, and remove Ansarallah from the State Department’s ‘terrorism list’ – as soon as they stop their attacks in support of Gaza," The Cradle columnist Khalil Nasrallah cited the sources as saying.

The offer also includes "severely reducing" the role of the Saudi-appointed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and "accelerating the signing of a roadmap" with the Saudi-led coalition to end the nine-year war that has decimated Yemen.

Nevertheless, Yemeni officials have maintained that their operations in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean will continue until Israel stops the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. "From the coast of the Red Sea or from outside it, we can achieve the goals we want in defense of our country and support of Palestine … We still have many military surprises, and there are military operations that we are keeping secret as part of a specific media strategy," Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, announced on April 3.

 

[seminole97]

A military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis announced on Saturday that their forces downed a US MQ-9 Reaper dronethat was operating over Yemen and was carrying out a “hostile mission.”

US officials confirmed to CBS News that a US Air Force MQ-9 drone "crashed" in Yemen early Friday morning and said they’re investigating the cause. MQ-9s are estimated to cost $30 million each, and Friday’s incident marked the third time the Houthis downed one since November.

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, also said they struck the MV Andromeda Star, a British-owned oil tanker, with missiles. The damage to the vessel was confirmed by US Central Command, which said on Friday that the "MV Andromeda Star reports minor damage but is continuing its voyage."

The Houthis began targeting British and American commercial shipping after the US and the UK started bombing Yemen on January 12. The Yemeni group initially said it only targeted Israeli-linked shipping to protest the siege on Gaza.

Hundreds of US and British missile strikes on Yemen have done nothing to deter the Houthis, who insist the campaign will only stop once there’s a ceasefire in Gaza.

The US backed a brutal Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis from 2015-2022 that involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became more of a capable fighting force during that time.

The war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege. A ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are now blocking the implementation of a lasting peace deal.

 

[seminole97]

According to Bloomberg, citing maritime security firm Ambrey and a US defense official, a bulk carrier flying under the Marshall Islands flag was attacked in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday. This incident occurred as Israeli forces advanced further into the south of Gazan city of Rafah. The culprits behind the maritime incident were likely Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

The 750-foot-long Greek-owned vessel is currently taking on water and leaning to one side. The ship was targeted about 54 miles southwest of the Yemeni city of Hodeida, according to Ambrey. It was hit with three missiles. There were 80,000 tons of cargo on board, yet no information was given on what the ship was hauling.

Vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows that Laax was approaching the Bab al-Mandab Strait during the attack. The ship is currently broadcasting "ARMGUARD ONBOARD" as its destination, possibly in an apparent attempt to prevent boarding.



Bloomberg noted, "Yemen's Houthis have not been named as the attackers but the group has carried out a series of assaults on ships transiting the waterway which is crucial to international shipping over the past few months in retaliation for Israel's war in Gaza."

 

[seminole97]

Crew Abandons Sinking Bulk Carrier In Red Sea After Kamikaze Drone Boat Attack​

Turmoil in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden intensified this week as Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a series of attacks on commercial vessels traversing the critical maritime chokepoint. In a bold new move, the rebels deployed a suicide drone boat that slammed into the stern of a bulk carrier, paralyzing the vessel and forcing the crew to abandon the ship.

The drone boat attack on commodity-hauling bulk carrier "Tutor" was first reported on Wednesday. By Friday, the crew of the vessel was "evacuated by military authorities," according to the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

UKMTO said, "The vessel has been abandoned and is drifting in the vicinity of the last reported position 14°20'00" N 041°56'00" E."

Filipino-based media outlet ABS-CBN News spoke with Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac, who said 21 of the 22 Filipino seafarers aboard the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned, and operated bulk carrier were rescued. He did not specify which military rescued the crew. However, Bloomberg reports that a US Navy ship conducted an extraction operation at the end of the week.

"The ship was adrift in the southern Red Sea," Cacdac told reporters, adding one missing crew member is likely dead in the engine room. This is the area where the drone boat struck the bulk carrier.

Bloomberg said the ship is taking on water, and a salvage company has dispatched two tugboats to rescue it.

ABS-CBN News posted a video onboard the vessel before the extraction.

Like security firm Ambrey, we have told readers this was the first time Houthis used remote-controlled, water-borne explosives.

One commodity research firm with a high focus on oil/gas flows in the Middle East told us this won't be the last time the Houthis use kamikaze drone boats against commercial vessels.

In a separate report, Bloomberg cites US officials who believe Houthis are expanding "international partnerships with other militant groups as part of their campaign to disrupt global shipping and protest the Israel-Hamas war."

Houthi's aim in disrupting maritime chokepoints is to create a supply shock for the global economy.

 

[seminole97]

Video of seaborne drone attack.

 

[seminole97]

The US military says it has spent about $1 billion in an unsustainable campaign to fight the Ansarallah-led Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 15 June.

Since November, Yemeni forces have attacked Israeli-linked commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea, the world’s most important commercial sea route, in response to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

After US and UK naval warships began carrying out attacks on the Yemeni navy and sites in the capital, Sanaa, Yemeni forces began attacking the warships as well.

To defend against Yemeni attacks, the US Navy has conducted more than 450 strikes and intercepted 200 drones and missiles in a campaign that US officials worry is not sustainable.

“Their supply of weapons from Iran is cheap and highly sustainable, but ours is expensive, our supply chains are crunched, and our logistics tails are long,” said Emily Harding of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “We are playing whack-a-mole, and they are playing a long game.”

WSJ provided details of a Yemeni attack on a US naval destroyer on 9 January, one of 80 attacks overall, which illustrated the difficulties US personnel face.

“It was just after 9 p.m. when radar operators aboard this US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea spotted a tiny arrow on their screens: a missile hurtling toward them at five times the speed of sound,” WSJ reported.

“The crew of the warship with 300 sailors aboard had just seconds to shoot it down. As the projectile closed in, the Laboon launched an interceptor from silos beneath its deck, destroying the incoming missile in flight.”

Yemeni forces launched 18 drones and cruise missiles, along with the ballistic missile, at four American destroyers, a US aircraft carrier, and a UK warship throughout the 12-hour battle that day.

“These things are telephone pole-sized, you get three minutes of flight time, you detect it for 45 seconds, you get like 10 seconds to determine whether you’re going to shoot at it or not,” said Capt. David Wroe of the US carrier strike group in the Red Sea.

The longer the Yemeni attacks continue, the more likely it is that a US warship could be hit, Frank McKenzie, a retired Marine general, told WSJ. “There’s always a chance that something happens and one of our ships could be struck, and that chance only increases the longer we allow the situation to continue,” he added.

No doubt we could take out anything we find with F-18s, but I’d expect it to turn into never ending whack-a-mole.
The missiles we defend our fleets with are around half a million a pop. We need to scale up those portable nuclear reactors, slide one into an VLS, and have unlimited laser ammo for shooting down cheap ass drones.

 

[seminole97]

Making headlines in recent days has been the sinking of commodity-hauling bulk carrier "Tutor." The significance of this Houthi attack marked the first time a ship was hit by an uncrewed surface vessel packed with explosives.

On Wednesday evening, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree provided a never-before-seen view of the attack on Tutor, which shows the drone boat slamming into the stern of the vessel, producing a massive explosion. Also, an anti-ship missile appeared to have struck the center point of the hull.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in fatal assault sinks in Red Sea​

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday, the second such ship to be sunk in the rebel campaign.

The sinking of the Tutor in the Red Sea marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign targeting shipping through the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/18/houthi-attack-ship-sinks-00164066

 

[seminole97]

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported two maritime incidents involving merchant vessels on Sunday. The first occurred in the Red Sea, where a suicide drone struck a vessel. The second incident took place in the Gulf of Aden.

A new update from UKMTO said a merchant ship 96 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun, Yemen, "reported severe flooding that cannot be contained, forcing the master and crew to abandon the ship."

UKMTO said the crew had been rescued by an "assisting ship," and the abandoned ship "remains adrift at position 14°31'N 053°08'E."

"Relevant authorities have been informed, confirming this as a SOLAS incident," UKMTO noted.

The term "SOLAS incident" typically refers to an event or situation that falls under the regulations and guidelines set forth by the SOLAS, which stands for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

SOLAS is a maritime treaty established by the International Maritime Organization. Its main purpose is to specify minimum safety standards for the construction, equipment, and operation of ships to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers.

* * *

Iranian-backed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden continue ramping up, with two more incident reports in under 12 hours (as of 0800 ET) on Sunday morning. In oil markets, traders ignore broader conflict risks in the Middle East as the Gaza war may soon spill over into Lebanon. If further escalation is realized, then expect increased drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels sailing through critical maritime chokepoints in the Middle East, where trillions of dollars in global trade flows each year.

Let's begin with the first incident reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on X. Just after midnight, they detailed in a report that an "uncrewed aerial system" hit a commercial vessel about 65 nautical miles west of Yemen's Hodeidah in the southern Red Sea, resulting in "damage."

"All crew members are reported safe, and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," UKMTO said.

Separately, Reuters quoted British security firm Ambrey as saying the damaged vessel is a "Liberia-flagged fully cellular container ship." The firm did not provide the vessel's name.

According to UKMTO, the second incident occurred just hours ago with a "distress call from a vessel" located 96 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun, Yemen, in the Gulf of Aden.

UKMTO is currently investigating, and details are limited.

The suspected Houthi attacks come after the sinking of the commodity-hauling bulk carrier "Tutor" last week. The use of a kamikaze drone boat marked what appeared to be a new escalation in attacks on the critical shipping lane.

The rebel group has been launching drone and missile strikes on Western-linked commercial vessels sailing through or near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait since November. Rebels say it's in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement ahead of his Washington trip that the next phase of the Gaza conflict could broaden into Lebanon.

"We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas," Gallant said in a statement, who was quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, AP News said that thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East are preparing to flood Lebanon to join Hezbollah if further conflict breaks out.

An expanding conflict in the Gaza war will almost guarantee Houthis or other Iran-backed groups will ramp up attacks on commercial vessels across critical maritime chokepoints, including Bab-El Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz. Analysts from MUFG Bank pointed out these risks earlier this year.

MUFG analysts showed that 25% of global trade flows through three chokepoints: the Suez Canal, the Bab-El Mandeb Strait, and the Strait of Hormuz. This means the global economy is at serious risk of a supply shock if wider conflict breaks out.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Suspected Houthi drone strike in Red Sea damages China-bound ship

British navy says mariners on board ‘reported safe’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[seminole97]

Alleged video of the boat drone attack was posted on X by Saudi state-owned media outlet Al Arabiya early Monday morning. The video shows what appears to be a small craft packed with explosives heading towards the center point of the ship's hull. The crew member filming the attack took cover, the video went black, then seconds later, a massive explosion was heard.



UKMTO noted on Sunday that the second attack in the Gulf of Aden led the crew to "abandon the ship" because of "severe flooding that cannot be contained."

Houthi spokesperson Saree said, "Others targeted the ship (STOLT SEQUOIA) with a number of winged missiles in the Indian Ocean."

According to the US Maritime Administration, the Houthis have launched over 50 attacks on vessels in the Middle East, endangering sailors and sinking two ships since November.

 

[seminole97]

Houthi Attacks On Ships Soar Most This Year In June As Critical Maritime Chokepoint Ablaze In Conflict​

About eight months after Iran-backed Houthi rebels began seriously disrupting maritime traffic in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, June recorded the highest number of missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels this year and the second-largest since December. As instability in the Middle East intensifies, Houthi rebels have sunk one commercial vessel in recent weeks and have introduced kamikaze drone boats to their arsenal.

Despite efforts of the US, British, and European navies sailing in the critical maritime chokepoint, attempting to ensure freedom of navigation, the Houthis managed to conduct 16 confirmed attacks on commercial vessels in June, according to Bloomberg, citing new data from naval forces operating in the Middle East.



The surge in attacks is alarming, considering President Biden's Operation Prosperity Guardian, launched at the start of this year to ensure freedom of navigation, has been without success in neutralizing threats and restoring security for commercial shipping. Instead, the consequence of failure has been emerging supply chain snarls and supply shocks, resulting in soaring containerized shipping rates.

"The Houthis have proven to be quite the formidable force. This is a nonstate actor that fields a larger arsenal and is really able to give a headache to the Western coalition," said Sebastian Bruns, a naval expert at the Center for Maritime Strategy and Security and the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University in Germany, who was quoted by Foreign Policy.

Bruns said, "This is as high-end as it gets for now, and when navies are having a problem with sustainment at this level, it is really worrisome."



So, eight months on, the disruption to the critical shipping lane is getting a lot worse as rebels have expanded their use of uncrewed service vessels to attack commercial vessels. These are much harder to track than anti-ship missiles.



And the Houthis aren't the only problem.

A European naval commander told Bloombergthat criminal groups have reinvigorated piracy networks off the Somalia coast.



Pirates "think there is a window of opportunity due to the Houthis' presence," with increased maritime traffic along Somalia's coast due to commercial vessels re-reouting from the Red Sea to Cape of Good Hope, said Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva, who commands a European Union operation tasked with curbing piracy, adding, "They are really trying to stretch the Western, international operations' limits and capabilities."

 

[seminole97]

 

[seminole97]

The top US commander in the Middle East warned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the US’s operations against Houthi fighters in Yemen are "failing" to deter the Iran-backed group from attacking international shipping, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

In a classified letter, General Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command (Centcom), suggested the US should take a more forceful approach against the Houthis, the report said. The letter comes amid fears that Red Sea tensions could draw in Russia.

The WSJ cited an exclusive article published by Middle East Eye last month which revealed US intelligence agencies learned Russian President Vladimir Putin has mulled arming Yemen’s Houthis with anti-ship cruise missiles.

MEE revealed that Putin was dissuaded from the move by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Putin engaged Mohammed bin Salman who requested them (Russia) not to pursue the arrangement," the senior US official previously told MEE.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration still believes Putin could pursue the arrangement and is confidently trying to stop Russia from arming the Houthis.

Fears about the Houthis' access to potentially more sophisticated weapons are likely to grow, following a drone attack on Tel Aviv on Monday that killed one person and injured several others. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike.

Ukraine and Red Sea​

Russia’s deliberations to step up its involvement adds a new dimension to the conflict. Moscow is upset with US and European military support for Ukraine. Putin said last month that Russia is considering providing long-range missiles to third countries to hit the assets of Nato countries.

"There is a connection between Russia's war on Ukraine and the Red Sea,” General Frank Mckenzie, the retired commander of US Central Command, told MEE.

But aiding the Houthis is not straightforward for Moscow, which enjoys good ties to Sunni Gulf monarchies and Iran, the Houthis main foreign backer. Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a campaign against the Houthis after Yemen descended into civil war in 2014 amid concerns a Houthi takeover of Yemen would install Tehran’s partners at their borders.

The Saudi-led coalition launched thousands of air strikes on Yemen which failed to dislodge the Houthis but resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and a major humanitarian crisis. The Houthis responded by lobbing missiles and drones at civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Since 2022, an uneasy truce has held between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces, but Gulf states are alarmed about rising tensions in the Red Sea. The Houthis began attacking commercial ships in November, in what they said was in solidarity with besieged Palestinians in Gaza.

List of new Houthi targets​

The attacks have upended global trade, forcing shipping companies plying goods between Europe and Asia to take a circuitous route around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks.

The Houthis have also struck at the core of the US’s great power projection in the region: protecting sea lanes of communication. In January, the US began striking Houthi positions in response to the attacks. MEE reported previously that Houthi fighters have been tapping commercially available maritime intelligence to draw up their target lists in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have at times hit vessels linked to Russia and Iran, but the group has promised the countries safe passage and has made a point of trying to avoid hitting their vessels, analysts and former maritime officials told MEE.



But former senior US officials who spoke to MEE said that within defense circles, there have been complaints that the Biden administration has restricted the US’s ability to hit the Houthis.

The WSJ reported that Kurilla warned in his letter that “US service members will die if we continue going this way”, as he argued for a more forceful response to Houthi attacks. The report said that Centcom has been instructed to draw up a list of expanded targets, including specific Houthi fighters.

Houthi attacks died down during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but as fighting between Hezbollah and Israel intensified in June, they have increased.

 

[seminole97]

After a two-week lull, Iran-backed Houthis targeted a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, and rebel forces claimed to have downed a US military spy drone this weekend.

Bloomberg reported a Houthi missile struck the container ship "Groton" just above the waterline, causing minor damage to the hull.

British maritime agency UKMTO said Groton was "hit by a missile," adding, "No fires, water ingress or oil leaks have been observed."



Bloomberg maritime data shows Groton left Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates about a week ago, bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The incident occurred on Saturday. Following the incident, the ship's transponder was turned off, and the vessel's location only reappeared on Sunday—with Groton now moored in the East African country of Djibouti.



Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack on Groton on X on Sunday morning. He also said rebel forces "shot down an American MQ-9 aircraft."

Possible footage of the downed MQ9 drone.



Bloomberg Noted, "The rebels have targeted more than 70 vessels with missiles and drones in a campaign that has killed four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in the time since."

Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is set to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group in the Middle East.

Eight months after the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation in the southern Red Sea, the Houthi threats remain ongoing.

 

[seminole97]

Russian military intelligence officers are believed to have been deployed to Yemen to assist the Iran-backed Houthis with targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Middle East Eye can reveal. Members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence are operating in the Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen in an advisory role, a senior US official told MEE, speaking on condition of anonymity and citing US intelligence.

The exact nature of the Russians’ role is murky, but the US official said that GRU officers have been operating in Yemen for "several months" to assist the Houthis in their targeting of commercial shipping, which the Houthis say is in solidarity with besieged Palestinians in Gaza.

The sensitive deployment comes as Russia has been eyeing ways to step up its support for the Iran-backed Houthis.

President Vladimir Putin mulled providing the Houthis with sophisticated anti-ship cruise missiles, but was dissuaded from doing so after the direct intervention of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MEE revealed in June.

The Wall Street Journal confirmed the report in July but added that the US is still concerned Putin could arm the Houthis, potentially as a way to dissuade the US from allowing Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory.

"If Russia were to give the Houthis arms, putting technical advisors on the ground would be the first step to doing so," Samuel Ramani, an expert on Russia's foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa at the Royal United Services Institute, told MEE.

"But it could also just be a sign of deepening cooperation. Given the Saudis' concerns, this would be a middle ground as Putin holds off on arming the Houthis."

The US intelligence shared with MEE did not reveal where the Russian advisors are operating. The White House and Department of Defence didn't respond to MEE's request for comment on this story by the time of publication.

The US anticipates Iran’s so-called "axis of resistance"- which includes Yemen's Houthis, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces - to take a more prominent role in a retaliatory attack on Israel compared to April when Iran directly launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel.

Publicly, the Houthis and Russians have been engaging more closely. In July, Putin’s top Middle East diplomat, deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, met in Moscow with a Houthi delegation led by the group’s spokesman, Mohamed Abdel Salam.

Middle East Eye reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment on the story but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

'Red Sea payback'

The Houthis started firing missiles and drones at commercial ships in the Red Sea shortly after the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on southern Israel. They say the attacks have been in response to Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip. In January, the US started bombing the Houthis but the strikes have not deterred the group.

The US says the Houthi attacks have been "indiscriminate" but the Houthis have guaranteed that vessels linked to Russia, Iran and China are safe in the Red Sea. But while Russian-flagged vessels have avoided attacks, those carrying Russian cargo have been hit.

Analysts say those attacks underscore the difficulty the Houthis face trying to sort through the interconnected world of global shipping, and their maritime intelligence limitations. Current and former US officials have told MEE they believe Putin sees the rising tensions in the Middle East as a weak spot to pressure the US over its support for Ukraine.

"There is a connection between Russia's war on Ukraine and the Red Sea," General Frank Mckenzie, the retired commander of US Central Command, previously told MEE. "Putin sees the US responsible for Ukrainian attacks on Russian vessels in the Black Sea. It is possible he could see doing something in the Red Sea as payback,” he said.

The US says the Houthis are relying on Iranian support to conduct their strikes, but the group also appears to be leaning heavily on open-source shipping data to draw up their target lists.

Putin’s decision to dispatch GRU officials on the ground in Yemen could be motivated by a desire to better organize the Houthis' intelligence capabilities. Russia is not shy about putting boots on the ground in the Middle East.

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group operates in Libya and the arid Sahel region. Russia’s military is also deployed in Syria where it supports President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, in Sudan, Russia is pushing ahead with plans for a Red Sea naval base, MEE has reported. "It makes sense Putin would want people on the ground to see how the Houthis are targeting and make sure Russian vessels aren’t hit," Ramani said.

 

[seminole97]

A commercial vessel in the southern Red Sea has been hit by "two unidentified projectiles" and "hit by a third projectile," according to a post on X by UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The UK Navy said the vessel was "not under command" following the attack.

UKMTO said the Red Sea incident occurred about 77 nautical miles west of Al Hudayah, Yemen. No details were given about the type of vessel or the ship's name.

Here are more details about the attack as reported by UKMTO:

The Master of a merchant vessel reported at 0257UTC that the vessel was approached by two small craft. The first craft had 3-5 persons onboard, while the second had approximately 10. The two small craft hailed the merchant vessel, leading to a brief exchange of small arms fire. The distance between the small craft and the merchant vessel subsequently increased to 2NM. Subsequently at 0500UTC, the Master reported that the merchant vessel had been struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third projectile. The vessel reports being not under command. No casualties reported.

 

[Finance85]

The MSM is largely ignoring this kind of news.

 

[seminole97]

The MSM is largely ignoring this kind of news.

Reminder, most propaganda is in lies of omission.

 

[seminole97]

I mentioned this in another thread, but the Laboon is one of the destroyers we repurposed for anti-piracy ship escort.

It’s not practical to have those escort every ship, but these missiles and drones aren’t going to do jack shit while it’s there. They’ve had extensive training in knocking down everything from RPGs to Zircons.

Probably time to just say F it and destroy all the Houthi anti shipping capabilities.

Probably take 12 or so hrs…be done with it

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/live-blog/rcna131737

We need an updated assessment.
How do we rate the effort so far?

MarineTraffic.com, which tracks global shipping, reported a 79.6 percent reduction in dry bulk carriers — whose shipments include grain — passing through the Suez, just 24 ships in June, compared to 118 in June 2023. The amount of cargo passing through the canal in May was 44.9 million tons, down from 142.9 million tons in May 2023.

 

[seminole97]

As the Greek-flagged oil tanker MV Sounion burns in the southern Red Sea, Iran-backed Houthi militants targeted two ships with missiles and drones in the critical maritime chokepoint on Monday.

Reuters reports projectiles hit a Panama-flagged oil tanker and a merchant vessel. Security firm Ambrey confirmed the oil tanker was hit by two missiles, with sources indicating the tanker is named "Blue Lagoon I."



Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the tanker was hit by missiles about 70 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's port of Saleef. The merchant ship was hit about 50 nautical miles off Yemen's Hodeidah.

The security firm said it "assessed that the tanker was targeted due to company affiliation with a vessel calling Israeli ports."

Monday's attack comes as the world braces for what could be one of the worst tanker spills this century. The Sounion tanker remains on fire and could be leaking oil.



Here's the latest on Sounion:

• Houthis Release New Footage On Tanker Explosion; Satellite Imagery Suggests Oil Leak Has Begun
• Houthis To Allow Salvage Crews To Access The Oil Tanker They Hit In The Red Sea
• US Warns Tanker Hit By Houthis Could Cause Largest Ship Oil Spill In History

Maritime news outlet Splash 247 noted the parallels between the Sounion and FSO Safer incidents. In recent years, a projected oil spill map for the FSO Safer was published due to the risk of a leak from the tanker anchored in the Red Sea. Fortunately, the tanker was emptied last year, averting a spill. However, that spill map could serve as a guide for assessing the potential impact if a leak from the Sounion materializes.

The Sounion is carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil from Iraq. The badly damaged ship risks spilling four times as much oil as the Exxon Valdez, arguably tanker shipping's most famous casualty, potentially becoming the fifth worst oil spill of all time, according to statistics carried by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF).

The ship is carrying a similar amount of oil to the FSO Safer and is in a similar location to that vessel, leading shipping consultant Lars Jensen to highlight today the potential environmental catastrophe unfolding in the Red Sea.

Splash has repeatedly reported on the United Nations' operation to remove the FSO Safer from Yemeni waters. Last year, the UN bought a Euronav tanker and was able to empty the rusting, abandoned FSO Safer's cargo of 1.14m barrels of crude oil.

Carrying over 1.1m barrels of oil, the FSO Safer was abandoned off Yemen's Red Sea port of Hudaydah after the civil war broke out in the country in 2015. Since then, the vessel deteriorated significantly in the absence of any servicing or maintenance, prompting fears of a major environmental disaster

To fund the FSO Safer operation the UN issued a report outlining the consequences if the FSO Safer situation was not resolved.

"Now that study can be seen as a reasonable proxy for the consequences of a major spill from the Sounion given that both the geographic location and the amount of oil involved is almost the same," Jensen, who heads up Vespucci Maritime in Copenhagen, wrote in a LinkedIn post today.

According to the UN report, the FSO Safer oil spill impact would have devastated the fishing communities on Yemen's Red Sea coast where 500,000 people make their living from the fishing industry with 1.7m dependents.

Desalination plants on the Red Sea coast could be closed, cutting off water supply for millions, the UN report warned, adding that oil could reach the shores of Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.

The UN estimated the clean-up bill from a possible FSO Safer disaster could have reached $20bn, just $1bn shy of the annual GDP of Yemen.

"It does raise the question as to whether or not it is ethically prudent to operate major oil tankers through the area under the current circumstances," Jensen mused.

Pictured below from the UN report on the FSO Safer, whose precarious circumstances were very similar to the Sounion's, are maps showing the areas at risk by using colours to indicate how much oil is expected on the surface in different places and times. Ports are marked with black dots, and water treatment plants are marked with blue dots.



The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant ships with missiles and drones since Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza started in October.