The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen fired a ballistic missile Thursday that missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the US military said, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint.
The seaborne assaults by the Houthis have been part of their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip.
Yemeni sources said the Houthis are using their piracy in the Red Sea to shirk their responsibilities in working towards peace.
The militias are seeking to drag Yemen towards a new international crisis, they added.
The European Union, meanwhile, expressed its anger at the attacks, warning of their impact on the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.
In a statement on Thursday, the EU strongly condemned the latest Houthi missile attacks, including the one targeting the Norwegian tanker "Strinda".
"The numerous attacks originating from Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen threaten international navigation and maritime security, in grave contravention of international law," it warned.
Houthi interference with navigational rights and freedoms in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the Red Sea is "unacceptable", it went on to say.
"The EU reiterates its call on the Houthis to refrain from further threats and attacks to international shipping lanes and calls for the immediate release of the ‘Galaxy Leader’ vessel and its 25-member crew, illegally seized on November 19 from international waters in the southern Red Sea," it stated.
"The EU appeals on all states to refrain from facilitation or encouragement of the Houthis in their illegal activities," it stressed.
"Attacks on international vessels undermine Yemen’s security, including food security, as most of the country’s food imports transit through the Red Sea," continued the statement.
"The EU also recalls that in this moment, more than ever before, enhanced international and regional cooperation are crucial to counter threats to peace and security in the region, and is coordinating with its partners to that end," it said.
The Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea and launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. In recent days, they have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel, though several vessels targeted had no apparent link.
The missile fired Thursday splashed harmlessly in the water near the Maersk Gibraltar, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship that had been traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the US military's Central Command said.
The "Maersk Gibraltar was hailed (on the radio) by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks," Central Command said. "While this incident did not involve US forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation. These attacks continue to threaten international maritime security."
The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, put out an alert warning of an incident in the strait, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.
Later Thursday, a Houthi military spokesman claimed without offering evidence that the militias had hit the Maersk Gibraltar with a drone strike after its crew failed to respond to their call to surrender. The spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, also alleged the vessel had been heading to Israel — again without providing evidence to support the claim.
Maersk, one of the world’s biggest shippers, issued a statement reporting the attack.
"The crew and vessel are reported safe," Maersk said. "The safety of our crew and vessel is our top priority and all possible security measures are being taken to ensure we remove them from harm’s way."
The company added: "The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait are extremely concerning. The current situation puts seafarer lives at risk and is unsustainable for global trade. As it cannot be solved by the global shipping industry on its own, we call on political action to ensure a swift de-escalation."
Earlier in the day, the private intelligence firm Ambrey said the ship had also been called over the radio by "an entity claiming to be the ‘Yemeni Navy’ ahead of the missile being launched towards the vessel."
"The ‘Yemeni Navy’ demanded the vessel alter course to head for Yemen," Ambrey said and assessed the entity to be the Houthis.
The US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, told Reuters on Thursday that Washington wanted the "broadest possible" maritime coalition to protect ships in the Red Sea and signal to the Houthis that attacks would not be tolerated.
The US aims to expand an existing international naval task force into "an international coalition that is putting some resources into protecting freedom of navigation," Lenderking said in an interview this week during a conference in Doha.
The current task force in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, known as Combined Task Force 153, is a 39-country coalition commanded by the vice-admiral of the US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.
"There's a very, very active assessment going on in Washington about what are the steps necessary to get the Houthis to de-escalate," Lenderking said, calling on the group to release the crew of the Galaxy Leader.
Lenderking declined to say which countries or how many more Washington had approached to join the expanded coalition, but said it should be the "broadest possible" coalition.
Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani warned that the proposed multi-national naval force would face "extraordinary problems" and nobody "can make a move in a region where we have predominance".
On Wednesday, two missiles fired from Houthi-held territory missed a commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near the key Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Also near the strait, a missile fired by Houthis on Monday night slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea.
The attacks have driven up the cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea, which the London insurance market now includes among its high risk areas.
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 and the resumption of a punishing Israeli ground offensive and airstrikes on Gaza have raised the risk of more sea attacks.
The Bab al-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 media acknowledged the ship's seizure and said the ship's 18-member crew hailed from Angola, Bulgaria and Myanmar. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.
