Yemen-based Houthi militants attack multiple ships in Red Sea; one damaged

Three ships experienced multiple attacks off the Red Sea coast of Yemen on July 15, of which one suffered minor damage, security analysts and the UK Maritime Trader Operations said, as Iran-backed Houthi militants continued their campaign to disrupt international shipping.

Via their social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, the UKMTO said a ship was attacked by an uncrewed surface vessel 97 nautical miles northwest of al-Hudaydah.

The ship continued to its destination and its crew was reported safe, even as the port side suffered “some damage” and there was light smoke, according to the British government agency.

Another ship, which has private armed guards onboard, was attacked by two crewed and one unmanned skiffs, as well as missiles 70 nm southwest of al-Hudaydah, according to the UKMTO and security consultancy Ambrey. No damage was reported.

The UKMTO said a third ship encountered two explosions in close proximity 15 nm southwest of al-Mukha, with no damage, neither crew casualties reported.

Ship identities are not immediately known. Citing security firm Diaplous, TradeWinds reported the damaged ship was a Panama-flagged crude tanker.

“Another [day of] very aggressive maritime attacks by the Houthis,” said Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at think tank Washington Institute.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, Yemen-based Houthi rebels have claimed to attack more than 100 ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in support of the Palestinians by targeting ships linked to Israel, the US and UK.

But the interests of at least 65 countries have been affected, including China, Canada, Singapore and Oman, according to a US Pentagon report in June.

At least 29 major energy and shipping companies have altered their routes to avoid the Houthis up through March, including BP, Maersk, QatarEnergy and Frontline, the Pentagon said.

According to IMF PortWatch data, the average daily ship transits via the Bab al-Mandab Strait stood at 24 in the week ended July 7, down from the year-ago level of 77. Industry participants said the diversions had supported freight rates and bunker consumption.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the rate to carry a 75,000 mt cargo of clean petroleum products from the Persian Gulf to UK Continent at $70.2/mt July 15 versus $52/mt Oct. 6.
Source: Platts