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With the most recent rocket attack on a British-operated Greek-owned bulker on Thursday, Yemen’s Houthis have threatened to keep attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni group have claimed responsibility for the attack on Helikon Shipping Enterprises’ supramax Lycavitos in the Gulf of Aden.
The Yemeni group says that ‘appropriate naval missiles’ were used on the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier and that the strikes were direct.
Maritime security specialists Ambrey said vessels transiting near the incident reported hearing “rocket attack” over VHF channel 16.
“The projectile exploded 100 m off the vessel but did not strike the vessel. The targeted vessel suffered minor damage due to shrapnel impacting a diesel generator pipe which led to a diesel leak. All crew members were reported safe and unharmed,” Ambrey said in a note.
The attack is the 52nd on merchant ships since the start of November when the Houthis decided to side with the Palestinians in their ongoing war with Israel.
The Iran-aligned regime added that they will continue to enforce a ‘blockade on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas until a ceasefire is achieved and a siege is lifted in the Gaza Strip’.
According to NBC News on Thursday, which cited three US officials, the country recently launched a cyberattack against an Iranian military ship in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that was gathering intelligence on cargo ships.
The cyberattack reportedly happened a week ago as part of the US government’s response to a drone attack in Iraq by militias backed by Iran that killed three American service members in Jordan late last month and injured numerous others.
NBC reported that the operation was intended to inhibit the ship’s ability to share intelligence with Houthis.
Iranian support has been critical for the Houthis as they bombard commercial ships in the Red Sea, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, said in a recent interview on CBS‘ 60 Minutes.
“The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is inside Yemen, and they are serving side by side with the Houthis, advising them and providing target information,” Cooper told 60 Minutes, adding that that support goes back a decade.
“They’re resupplying them as we sit here right now at sea,” Cooper said. “We know this is happening. They’re advising them, and they’re providing target information. This is crystal clear.”
The US recently said it had seized weapons originating in Iran and bound for Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The boarding team found more than 200 packages containing medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies and other military components.
“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”
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