Hijacking a ship
In the latest attack, the anti-piracy force said in Somalia The European Union said on Friday that a Spanish naval ship was sailing at full speed towards a commercial ship that may have been hijacked by pirates, according to Reuters.
The force added in a statement: “Based on the initial information available about the ship MV Ruin, the Spanish ship Victoria, the flagship of UNAFOR’s Operation Atlanta, is rapidly advancing towards the ship, which is said to have been hijacked by pirates, to seek further knowledge and evaluate next actions.”
Earlier today, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said it had received a report from one of the ship's security officers in which he said he believed the crew was no longer in control of the ship, which is currently heading towards Somalia.
Data from the public shipping database Ecoseas indicates that the Maltese-flagged ship is operated by a Bulgarian company.
If confirmed, this will be the first kidnapping involving Somali pirates in years.
Targeting two ships
The Houthi group in Yemen launched attacks targeting two ships flying the Liberian flag in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, earlier on Friday.
According to a US defense official, a projectile believed to be a drone hit one of the two ships, the MSC Platium 3, owned by a Swiss company, causing a fire, but no casualties were reported.
He added to an official that two ballistic missiles were launched in the second attack, one of which hit a ship, causing a fire that the crew was working to put out.
A spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, which owns the ship, said that it was attacked while sailing near the Yemeni coast.
The attack occurred specifically 50 miles north of the Yemeni port of Mokha overlooking the Red Sea.
He added, “Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to ensure the safety of our crews.”
Another container ship flying the Liberian flag, bearing the name “MSC Alanya”, received an order from those believed to be members of the Yemeni Houthi movement in a small boat to change its course towards Yemen.
The ship resorted to maneuvering, according to the British maritime security company Ambrey.
Ambry reported that a small boat with ten people on board approached MSC Alanya and announced that they were from “Yemeni authorities.”
But a spokesman for the company denied that the ship had been attacked and declined to make further statements.
Initially, no party claimed responsibility for the two attacks, but a Houthi spokesman later said: “We attacked the two ships, MSC Alania and MSC Platium 3.”
drone
On Thursday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a military drone operation on a Maersk cargo ship that was heading to Israel, and directly hit it.
He added that the ship was targeted after its crew refused to respond to militia warnings.
The statement said that the operation targeted the “Maersik Gebrelater” container ship, noting that it was targeted by a drone and the hit was direct.
The Danish company Maersk reported earlier that its cargo ship was targeted by a missile while it was passing the coast of Yemen.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza War, the Iran-backed Houthi group has targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Recent attacks launched by the Houthis:
- December 15: A US defense official said that a projectile fired from an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthis hit the Al-Jasra ship, owned by a German company and flying the flag of Liberia, causing a fire but causing no casualties.
- December 15: Maersk denies the Houthi movement’s allegations that it carried out a military drone operation on a Maersk ship sailing towards Israel, but says the tanker was targeted by a missile. Navigation sources said on Thursday that Maersk Tankers ships had the option of changing their course via the Cape of Good Hope due to the deteriorating security situation in the Red Sea.
- December 12: The Houthi spokesman said that the group targeted the Norwegian commercial tanker Strinda. A US official told Reuters that the attack occurred about 111 kilometers north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait at around 2100 GMT.
- December 9: The Houthis warned that they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.
- December 3: The US military said that three commercial ships were attacked in international waters in the southern Red Sea, and the Houthis claimed responsibility for drone and missile attacks on two Israeli ships in the region.
- November 19: Israel said the Houthis seized a British-owned, Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.
What is Bab al-Mandab?
- The Bab al-Mandab Strait is the Red Sea's outlet to the Indian Ocean, and is located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.
- The Strait is one of the world's most important water routes for shipments of global seaborne goods, especially crude oil and fuel from the Gulf heading to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or the SUMED pipeline, as well as goods heading to Asia, including Russian oil.
- The Strait witnessed the naval blockade imposed by Egypt on Israel in the October War of 1973.
- Bab el-Mandeb is 30 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, making tanker movement difficult and limited to two channels for incoming and outgoing shipments, separated by Perim Island.
- About 7.80 million bpd of crude oil and fuel shipments passed through the strait in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 6.60 million bpd throughout 2022, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. Vortexa monitored the crossing of 27 tankers loaded with crude or fuel per day on average in 2023, up from 20 last year.
- The Energy Information Administration said that 12 percent of the total seaborne oil in the first half of 2023, as well as eight percent of liquefied natural gas trade, passed through Bab al-Mandab, the SUMED pipeline, and the Suez Canal.
