Threats to shipping continued to escalate on Thursday, as an explosive-packed drone boat launched by the Houthi terrorists of Yemen exploded in the Red Sea, while a group of as-yet unidentified but possibly Somali pirates stormed a Liberian-flagged merchant ship near the coast of Somalia.
The drone boat detonated in the Red Sea without causing any damage or casualties to other ships, according to the U.S. Navy, but it appeared to be a failed attack on the shipping lanes.
“It came within a couple of miles of ships operating in the area – merchant ships and US Navy ships – and we all watched as it exploded,” said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of American naval forces in the Middle East.
“Shipping lanes in this region are dense. The vessels approach a chokepoint,” Cooper explained. “This, coupled with the fact that Houthi missiles often miss their intended target, means that any ship, really at any time, is at risk of collateral damage when passing through the Houthi-controlled territory in the vicinity of the southern Red Sea.”
Cooper said there are “no signs” that the “irresponsible behavior” of the Houthis is abating, despite a fresh warning from the U.S. and its allies on Thursday. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting about the Red Sea crisis on Thursday but took no firm action.
Cooper said Friday’s attack was the first Houthi deployment of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) since the Iran-backed insurgents began harassing commercial vessels to support the Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Other Houthi attacks since October have used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), ballistic missiles, and boarding parties.
The Houthis do have a history of using remote-controlled boats full of explosives to attack ports and shipping.
In April 2021, for example, the Yemeni insurgents remotely piloted a boat packed with explosives toward the Saudi Arabian port of Yanbu. The Saudi military claimed the “booby-trap boat was dealt with and destroyed according to the rules of engagement,” although some observers thought it was able to damage commercial vessels when it exploded.
In 2017, the Houthis targeted a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea with what the Saudis described as “suicide boats.” The Houthis claimed they used a surface-launched anti-ship missile.
Military analysts say the Houthis outfit their USVs with components provided by their patrons in Iran, including electronic guidance systems.
The sea drone was launched within hours of the U.S. and allied governments warning the Houthis to halt their “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing” attacks on shipping. The statement said the Houthis would “bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would not commit to military action in response to the USV attack on Thursday.
“I’ll let the statement speak for itself, which, again, represented many nations around the world and highlighted that if these strikes don’t stop, there will be consequences,” he said, referring to the Thursday joint statement by members of the Operation Prosperity Guardian security initiative.
Danish shipping giant Maersk dealt a major blow to the credibility of Operation Prosperity Guardian on Friday by announcing it will divert all of its vessels away from the Red Sea “for the foreseeable future,” sending them on a ten-day-longer route around the Cape of Good Hope instead.
“The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level,” Maersk said.
“While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near future and do all we can to contribute towards it, we do encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network,” the company warned.
Meanwhile, the Liberian-flagged merchant ship MV Lila Norfolk was hijacked by pirates on Friday about 300 nautical miles east of Somalia.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was boarded by “five to six unauthorized armed persons” while passing southeast of Eyl, Somalia en route to Bahrain.
UKMTO said the crew of MV Lila Norfolk was “mustered in citadel,” meaning they were hiding from the pirates in a fortified compartment. For this reason, other ships in the area were cautioned that the hijacked vessel would not be navigating properly.
Piracy off the Somali coast has been growing steadily worse since the long-running Al-Shabaab terrorist insurgency made a deal with pirate gangs, reportedly offering them protection in exchange for a cut of their profits.
The crew of MV Lila Norfolk reportedly includes 15 Indians, so the Indian Navy dispatched aircraft to monitor the ship’s progress, and the warship INS Chennai was sent to render assistance.
Late Friday morning, the Indian Navy said the Chennai was able to rescue all 21 members of the crew by sending marine commandos aboard. The navy said the attempt to hijack the vessel was evidently aborted, and the Chennai is helping the ship to “commence its voyage to the next port of call.”
On Friday afternoon, the Indian Navy said its forces were conducting a “sanitization” operation on the Lila Norfolk, but they did not find any pirates to sanitize.
“The attempt of hijacking by the pirates was probably abandoned with the forceful warning by the Indian Navy, marine patrol aircraft, of interception by an Indian Naval warship,” the Indian Navy statement said.
Two weeks ago, the Indian Navy responded to a distress call from a Maltese-flagged ship in the Arabian Sea called MV Ruen. Like the Lila Norfolk, the Ruen was stormed by a half-dozen armed men. The Indian Navy negotiated with the pirates who captured MV Ruen and were able to evacuate a crew member who suffered a bullet injury near his shoulder.
The Indian Navy said last week that the Ruen hijacking and another incident, a drone attack on the chemical and oil tanker MV Chem Pluto, indicated “a shift in maritime incidents closer to Indian EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone.)”
“The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region,” the statement said.
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