Houthis Bomb Swiss-Owned Civilian Ship, Disregarding Biden’s ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’

SANA'A, YEMEN - MARCH 4: A man follows news about the recent Houthi attacks on ships, on M
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty
Frances Martel

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen announced on Monday they had bombed another commercial ship – the Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned MSC Sky – in an alleged attempt to hurt the Israeli economy.

Houthi spokesman “Brigadier General” Yahya Saree claimed that the terrorists had struck the ship “in an accurate and direct manner,” according to the Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), however – the arm of the Pentagon that operates in the Middle East – claimed that the ship appeared to suffer minimal damage and did not ask for any help.

The Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital of Sana’a as a result of nearly a decade of civil war against the legitimate government of the country, declared war on the state of Israel in October, a gesture of solidarity to the fellow Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas. While Hamas is a Sunni-led jihadist organization and both the Houthis and the Iranian government are Shiite terror entities, Iran offers Hamas and fellow jihadist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad as much as $100 million in funding a year, according to the U.S. State Department. Tehran is the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism, also supporting a growing number of Shiite terrorist entities in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthis and expanding operations in Latin America.

While Houthi leaders insist they are only targeting Israeli ships, ships engaging in commerce with Israel, or ship associated with allies America and Britain, their attacks have often appeared seemingly random. Houthi missiles have hit ships with ties to Iran, its top geopolitical ally, and Russia and China, despite public assurances from the Houthis that ships associated with either nation are safe from their attacks. The Houthis have sunk one commercial ship since they began their campaign, the British-owned MV Rubymar, which is currently threatening to create an environmental disaster as its cargo of chemical fertilizers begins sinking into the maritime ecosystem.

The government of the United States, under leftist President Joe Biden, announced a plan in December known as “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to protect commercial ships in the region from Houthi attacks. The operation was allegedly made up of a coalition of over 20 countries, but the Pentagon never clarified the full list of participating states or how, exactly, they were aiding the mission. No significant decrease in the number of Houthi attacks on vessels transiting around the Red Sea has occurred since the debut of “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” resulting in skyrocketing shipping prices and major disruptions as companies reroute their ships away from the Middle East and around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm their continued commitment to preventing Israeli navigation or navigation headed to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression is stopped,” Saree, the Houthi spokesman, declared on Monday, according to the Hezbollah-owned outlet al-Manar. The Houthis falsely consider themselves the official military of the state of Yemen.

“They will not hesitate, with the help of Allah Almighty, to carry out more military operations in both the Red and Arabian Seas against all hostile targets, in defense of beloved Yemen and in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people,” Saree continued.

Al-Manar and PressTV both falsely described the MSC Sky as an “Israeli ship.” PressTV cited Saree as the source for claiming the ship has ties to Israel. The Maritime Executive, an industry publication, reported that the apparent link between the ship and the state of Israel is that the company that owns it, MSC, has a top shareholder who was born “in what is now the state of Israel.”

“Some analysts suggest that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have identified this connection and are targeting MSC vessels because of the affiliation,” the outlet claimed, noting that multiple ships the Houthis have targeted are owned by MSC.

CENTCOM confirmed the attack on the MSC Sky but indicated that it did not cause any significant harm to the ship.

“Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen into the Gulf of Aden at M/V MSC SKY II, a Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container vessel,” CENTCOM explained in a press release. “One of the missiles impacted the vessel causing damage. Initial reports indicate there were no injuries; the ship did not request assistance and continued on its way.”

CENTCOM also documented the Houthis shooting an “anti-ship ballistic missile” into the Red Sea on Monday, which did not hit anything and did not appear to have a clear target.

CENTCOM did not make any mention of “Operation Prosperity Guardian.” The Pentagon has limited its discussion of the plan in the past month, though the Defense Department spokesman attempted to defend Biden’s plan in remarks to Voice of America published on Friday. The U.S. media outlet relayed that the Pentagon claims “Operation Prosperity Guardian” has protected 423 ships passing around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait near Yemen. That number, however, only represents about nine percent of the ships transiting through the region.

Houthi leaders attempted to complicate transit in and around the Red Sea even further on Monday with the announcement that they would demand all ships in “Yemeni waters,” defined liberally, would need a Houthi permit to transit in the region.

“The territorial waters affected by the Yemeni order extend halfway out into the 20-km (12-mile) wide Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow mouth of the Red Sea through which around 15 percent of the world’s shipping traffic passes on its way to or from the Suez Canal,” Reuters specified.

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