LONDON, England – A Greek-flagged cargo ship, the Sea Champion, successfully delivered grain to Yemen despite a Houthi missile strike on Monday. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that the ship was hit by two missiles in the Gulf of Aden, causing a fire on board. This incident is just one in a series of apparent attacks by Yemen’s rebel Houthi movement on merchant vessels in the region.
The Houthi movement, backed by Iran and controlling much of north-western Yemen, has been targeting merchant vessels in the region since November. They claim these attacks are in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, although they often falsely claim the ships are linked to Israel, the US, or the UK.
In response to the attacks, the US military said it had carried out four “self-defense” strikes against mobile cruise missiles and a mobile ballistic missile launcher in Houthi-controlled areas on Wednesday. The US and its allies have also condemned the attacks as “reckless and indiscriminate,” warning that they have delayed crucial humanitarian aid deliveries to Yemen, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
US and British warships have been deployed in the region as part of an international maritime task force to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping in the critical waterway. Additionally, US forces, occasionally backed by British warplanes, have been striking Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the attacks since mid-January, but so far the Yemeni rebels have not been deterred.
The attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea remain a significant concern for global seaborne trade, and the international community continues to take steps to prevent further incidents and protect the vital waterway. With tensions escalating in the region, the safety and security of shipping lanes and humanitarian aid deliveries to Yemen are at stake.