Houthi Militants Hit Fuel Tanker With Missile in Vital Red Sea Trade Artery
A fuel tanker was struck by missile as it navigated the Red Sea, the latest in a string of incidents that have turned the area where the attack took place into the world’s riskiest waters.
The vessel’s owner said the ship — the Strinda — was heading to Italy whereas Houthi militants claimed it was bound for Israel. The attack, the latest in a string of incidents, took place in a maritime corridor handling about 12% of global trade, making it important to European economic interests.
Geir Belsnes, chief executive officer of the ship’s Norwegian owner, J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, said it was taking a cargo of feedstock to make biofuels in Italy. Houthi forces said earlier that they targeted the ship because it was going to Israel.
Attacks on Red Sea Shipping Menace 12% of Global Trade as War Risk Premiums Rise
An anti-ship cruise missile struck the vessel Monday as it passed through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which separates East Africa from the Arabian peninsula, US Central Command said in a statement on X.
The Strinda, an oil and chemicals tanker sailing under the flag of Norway, reported damage and fire on board, but no casualties. The destroyer USS Mason responded to the vessel’s distress call, according to Centcom.
Oil futures initially rose on the news, before giving up their gains.
The Houthis have said they would attack ships that have links to — or are sailing toward — Israel, describing them as “legitimate targets.” Other Iran-backed militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria have been launching missiles toward Israel to pressure the Tel Aviv to halt its attack on the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas. Hamas is designated a terror group by the US and European Union.
U.S. Central Command @CENTCOM
CENTCOM Statement on missile attack in the Bab-el-Mandeb
At around 4 p.m. EST on December 11, the Motor Tanker STRINDA was attacked by what is assessed to have been an Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen while passing through the…
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“There’s damage but we don’t know how bad it is yet,” Belsnes said, confirming the ship’s crew were uninjured and the vessel was able to carry on its voyage.
The Strinda was sailing from Malaysia and was bound for the Suez Canal from where most ships then enter the Mediterranean Sea.
The US has been in talks with its Gulf allies about potential military action against the Yemeni group in response to their increasingly brazen attacks on ships, Bloomberg reported last week, citing several people with knowledge of the discussions.
Deputy US National Security Adviser Jon Finer has said that the Biden administration has “not ruled out the possibility of taking military action” against the Houthis but the focus for now is on assembling a maritime coalition to secure the Red Sea.
Large amounts of energy, commodities and manufactured goods are transported through the Red Sea to on ships that use Egypt’s Suez Canal. Avoiding it adds thousands of miles as the vessels must instead sail around Africa.
Photograph: A picture taken during an organized tour by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Nov. 22, 2023. Source: AFP/Getty Images
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