Yemen's Houthis say they attacked two more ships in Red Sea (updated)

YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT

18/12/2023 06:46

* 
      Attacks are the latest since start of war in Gaza
    

        * 
      Shippers avoiding Red Sea over attacks
    

        * 
      Red Sea key routing for global maritime trade 
    

  
 (Releads on Houthi statement, updates throughout)
    By Ahmed Elimam, Phil Stewart and Terje Solsvik
       DUBAI/TEL AVIV/OSLO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi
movement attacked two commercial ships in the Red Sea with naval
drones on Monday, the Iran-backed group said, the latest in a
surge of attacks over Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
    Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea identified the vessels as
the MSC Clara and Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic, and said the
attacks were carried out after their crews failed to respond to
calls from the group.
    The Swan Atlantic's owner said the ship had been struck by
an unidentified object but none of the crew was hurt.
    The MSC Clara is a Panama-flagged vessel, according to LSEG
data. Details of the attack on the vessel were not immediately
known.
    The Houthis say they have been attacking vessels in the Red
Sea with links to Israel in protest at its military offensive
against Hamas in Gaza, and have warned against sailing towards
the area.
    The attacks have caused concerns about the impact on the
passage of oil, grain and other goods on what is an important
global trade route, and have pushed up the cost of insuring and
shipping goods through the Red Sea.
    Soon after the latest attacks, London's insurance market 
widened the area in the Red Sea it deems as high risk. 
    Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation said it
would divert any of its ships sailing through the Red Sea or
Gulf of Aden via the Cape of Good Hope for the next two weeks. 
    Norway-based oil tanker group Frontline said its vessels
would also start avoiding passages through the Red Sea and the
Gulf of Aden.
    "War risk insurance premiums are on the rise naturally, but
as vessels gets re-routed around Africa shipping supply will be
tighter as cargoes travel longer. That would put rates under a
strong upwards pressure," CEO Lars Barstad told Reuters.
    The announcement followed decisions by two major freight
firms including MSC, the world's biggest container shipping
line, to avoid the Suez Canal in response to the attacks by
Houthi forces, which control most of Yemen, a poor Arab state.
    The Suez Canal shipping route, which leads to the Red Sea,
is a vital waterway for global trade, used to transport energy
and other goods between Europe and Asia, and elsewhere. The
route saves on time and expense by avoiding having to navigate
around the entire Africa continent.
        
    ONBOARD FIRE 
    Confirming Monday's attack on the Swan Atlantic, U.S.
officials told Reuters multiple projectiles had been launched
from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. 
    All the ship's system were operating normally although the
water tank had been damaged in the attack, said Oystein Elgan,
chief executive of owner Inventor Chemical Tankers. 
    Inventor Chemical Tankers had no Israeli ties, Elgan said.
    The vessel's operator, Uni-Tankers, said the attack had
caused a small fire which the crew brought under control, and
that the ship, carrying vegetable oils, continued to Reunion
Island.
   A British maritime authority said it had received a report of
a vessel that "experienced an explosion" on its port side in an
attack 24 nautical miles north west of Yemen's Mokha port.
    The vessel and crew were reported safe, it said in an
advisory. The incident described by the UKMTO advisory was
similar to those of the attack on the Swan Atlantic.
    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO)
authority said in a separate advisory it had received a report
of a vessel 24 nautical miles southeast of Mokha as being
approached by a craft with several armed personnel onboard.
    Warning shots were fired from the vessel and the craft with
the armed personnel on board changed course, the advisory said.
    The UKMTO authority said in other advisories it had received
reports of an incident 63 nautical miles northwest of Djibouti
and another incident in the vicinity of the Bab Al Mandab
strait, 30 nautical miles south of the port Mokha. 
    The Houthis have pledged to continue their attacks until
Israel stops its assault, but said on Saturday that real steps
to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip would
contribute to "reducing the escalation". They also said that
they were in Oman-mediated talks about its sea "operations".
    That was the first indication that the militia group may be
willing to de-escalate. The U.S. has said it is seeking an
expanded coalition to protect ships in the Red Sea and to send a
signal to the Houthis, who have also fired drones and missiles
at Israel since it began its campaign in Gaza in response to the
Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
    Norway's Shipowners' Association said it expected Norwegian
and international authorities to come together as soon as
possible to secure safe passage for civilian vessels.
    Norway's foreign ministry said Oslo was evaluating whether
to participate in the proposed U.S.-led maritime coalition.

 (Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai, Phil
Stewart in Tel Aviv, Terje Solsvik in Oslo, Louise Rasmussen in
Copenhagen, Mohamed Ghobari in Aden ; additional Paolo Laudani
in Gdansk; Writing by Clauda Tanios and Alexander Cornwell;
Editing by Gerry Doyle, Mark Heinrich, Christian Schmollinger
and Timothy Heritage)
 ((Clauda.Tanios@thomsonreuters.com;))