2 Attacks Launched by Houthis in Yemen Strike Container Ships in Vital Red Sea Corridor

A Houthi militant walks through the beach with the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the background, seized by the Houthis offshore of the Al-Salif port on the Red Sea in the province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 05 December 2023. (EPA)
A Houthi militant walks through the beach with the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the background, seized by the Houthis offshore of the Al-Salif port on the Red Sea in the province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 05 December 2023. (EPA)
TT

2 Attacks Launched by Houthis in Yemen Strike Container Ships in Vital Red Sea Corridor

A Houthi militant walks through the beach with the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the background, seized by the Houthis offshore of the Al-Salif port on the Red Sea in the province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 05 December 2023. (EPA)
A Houthi militant walks through the beach with the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the background, seized by the Houthis offshore of the Al-Salif port on the Red Sea in the province of Hodeidah, Yemen, 05 December 2023. (EPA)

A ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen slammed into a cargo ship Friday in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, following another attack only hours earlier that struck a separate vessel, authorities said.

The missile attack on the MSC Palatium III and the earlier assault on the Al Jasrah escalate a maritime campaign by the Houthis. The attacks also endanger ships traveling through a vital corridor for cargo and energy shipments for both Europe and Asia from the Suez Canal out to the Indian Ocean.

The Houthis say their attacks aim to end the pounding Israeli air-and-ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip amid that country's war on Hamas. However, the links to the ships targeted in the militias’ assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.

“The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the (Red Sea) until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” the Houthi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said in a statement claiming responsibility for Friday's attacks.

The recent attacks led Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, to announce Friday that it’s told all of its vessels planning to pass through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to “pause their journey until further notice.” German-based shipper Hapag-Lloyd that was operating the Al Jasrah also said it was pausing all its container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday.

Meanwhile, hijackers, likely from Somalia, separately seized a Bulgarian ship in the Arabian Sea.

A US defense official and the private intelligence firm Ambrey said the MSC Palatium III, a Liberian-flagged container ship, caught fire after the strike. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone on board the vessel had been hurt.

Two missiles were fired in the attack, likely trying to hit the Al Jasrah, the US official said. One went wide and splashed down in the water, the other slammed into the Palatium, the official said.

The Palatium turned around after the attack and was now trying to head south, tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed.

The Switzerland-based MSC, or Mediterranean Shipping Co., earlier had another vessel, the MSC Alanya, warned by the Houthis around the Bab al-Mandeb, Ambrey said. “The parent company had cooperated with Israel, and this was likely the reason why she was threatened.”

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. MSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the earlier Al Jasrah attack, it remained unclear if it was a missile or drone that hit the vessel, the official said. Ambrey and the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, also confirmed that attack.

“The projectile reportedly hit the port side of the vessel and one container fell overboard due to the impact,” Ambrey said. “The projectile caused a ‘fire on deck’ which was broadcast via” radio.

Shipper Hapag-Lloyd said no crew member had been hurt in the attack. It later announced that it was also pausing its ships through the Red Sea until Monday and “will decide for the period thereafter.”

Ambrey noted that Hapag-Lloyd “is known to have offices in the Israeli ports of Ashdod, Haifa and Tel Aviv.”

In his statement, military spokesman Saree claimed the Houthis targeted the Palatium III and the Alanya — not the Al Jasrah. It wasn't immediately clear why he erroneously identified the second ship.

The attacks Friday further escalate a campaign by the Houthi rebels, who have claimed responsibility for a series of missile assaults in recent days that just missed shipping in the Red Sea and its strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

On Thursday, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that missed a container ship traveling through the strait.

The day before that, two missiles fired from Houthi-held territory missed a commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near Bab al-Mandeb. Also near the strait, a missile fired by Houthis on Monday night slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea.

Global shipping has increasingly been targeted as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict — even during a brief pause in fighting during which Hamas exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The collapse of the truce has raised the risk of more sea attacks.

The Bab ea-Mandeb Strait is only 29 kilometers (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Nearly 10% of all oil traded at sea passes through it. An estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait annually.

In November, Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The militias still hold the vessel near the port city of Hodeidah. Separately, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.

Also Thursday, unknown attackers boarded the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Ruen, managed by Navigation Maritime Bulgare, in the Arabian Sea off the Yemeni island of Socotra, Ambrey and the UKMTO said. Bulgarian authorities said the ship’s 18-member crew hailed from Angola, Bulgaria and Myanmar.

“The necessary steps have been taken to pass the information on to all foreign partners and institutions that we will count on to provide assistance,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel told reporters Friday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. However, suspicion immediately fell on pirates from Somalia.  

Somali piracy had dropped in recent years, but there has been growing concern it could resume amid the wider chaos of the Houthi attacks and the political uncertainty gripping the east African nation.

On Friday, the UKMTO issued a warning to shippers saying the security manager for the Ruen “believes the crew no longer has control of the vessel” and that it is heading toward Somalia.  

The European Union’s anti-piracy force in the region said the Spanish frigate Victoria was on its way to intercept the “alleged pirate-hijacked vessel.”



Lebanon, Israel Ceasefire Deal Will Take Place in Three Phases and ‘Simultaneous’ Withdrawals

 Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
TT

Lebanon, Israel Ceasefire Deal Will Take Place in Three Phases and ‘Simultaneous’ Withdrawals

 Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)

Informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that US-President elect Donald Trump agreed on the steps that President Joe Biden’s administration will take to ensure the success of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Israel approved the ceasefire on Tuesday night after Lebanon had already agreed to it.

The sources, which followed up on the negotiations for the 60-day truce, said the steps call for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and their weapons from the South where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon is deployed. In return, Israeli forces will withdraw from southern Lebanon.

More negotiations through American mediators will take place throughout the process.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Trump “gave his blessing” to the process during his meeting with Biden at the White House two weeks ago.

A committee led by the US will oversee the implementation of the withdrawal. France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL are also part of the committee.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that Hezbollah’s withdrawal will take place in three 20-day phases. The first withdrawal will take place in the western sector.

It will coincide with an Israeli pullout from areas it occupied in that region. A strengthened Lebanese army force and UNIFIL troops will deploy in their place.

The second phase will cover the central sector and follow the same process.

The residents of the frontline southern villages will not be allowed to return to their homes immediately until they are deemed safe and after ensuring that no Hezbollah members or weapons remain there.

Residents of the so-called second and third line of villages south of the Litani River will be allowed to return to their homes immediately.

The source expected the US to play an “effective role” in the mechanism to oversee the withdrawal. It did not clarify whether any American forces will take part in the process.

It revealed that Britain and other countries will “exert special efforts to verify whether illegitimate weapons are being smuggled to Hezbollah.”

The five-member committee will not replace the tripartite committee already in place and that includes Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.