Factbox-Houthi attacks on shipping in Red Sea persist, U.S. and allies strike back

Reuters
·5 min read
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FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States and Britain carried out strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in attacks the Iran-aligned group says aim to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.

WHAT ARE THE RECENT HOUTHI ATTACKS AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES?

* Jan. 11: Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden but the attack did not cause injuries nor damage, the U.S. military said. It was the 27th such Houthi attack since Nov. 19, the U.S. said.

* Jan. 9: U.S. and British naval forces shot down 21 Houthi drones and missiles. U.S. President Joe Biden said they had directly targeted American ships. The Houthis said it was in part retaliation for a New Year's Eve incident when U.S. helicopters sank three Houthi boats, killing fighters who were attempting to board a commercial vessel.

* Jan. 6: Six small craft approached a merchant vessel about 50 miles from the Yemeni city of Mocha before leaving the area, the British maritime agency (UKMTO) said. A drone launched from Yemen was shot down in self-defence by a U.S. ship in the southern Red Sea, the U.S. Central Command said.

* Jan. 3: Houthis say they had "targeted" a container ship bound for Israel.

* Jan. 2: Houthi militants fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea though no damage was reported, the U.S. Central Command said. Multiple commercial ships in the area reported the impact of the missiles on the surrounding water.

* Dec. 31 - Houthis say that 10 of their naval personnel were dead and missing after three of their boats were attacked by U.S. forces in the Red Sea. Houthi naval forces had carried out a missile attack on the Maersk Hangzhou container vessel after its crew refused to heed warning calls, a Houthi spokesman said.

* Dec. 28: The United States said it shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the southern Red Sea fired by Houthis in the 22nd attempted attack on international shipping since Oct. 19.

* Dec. 26: Houthis claim responsibility for a missile attack on a container ship in the Red Sea and for an attempt to attack Israel with drones.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping said there were no injuries to its crew from the attack on its ship, the United VIII, en route from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.

* Dec. 23: The United States shot down four drones headed towards a U.S. destroyer in the southern Red Sea and launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Central Command said.

The Norwegian-flagged, -owned and -operated chemical/oil tanker Blaamanen reported a near miss in a Houthi drone attack, while a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker reported being hit by an attack.

* Dec. 18: The M/V Swan Atlantic is attacked in the southern Red Sea by multiple projectiles launched from Houthi-held territory, U.S officials said.

* Dec. 16: The U.S. Central Command says its guided missile destroyer USS Carney shot down 14 drones launched by Houthis over the Red Sea.

* Dec. 15: A projectile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen strikes the Liberia-flagged, German-owned Al Jasrah ship, causing a fire but no injuries, a U.S. defence official says.

Maersk denies a Houthi claim that the militia carried out a drone strike on a Maersk vessel sailing towards Israel, but says the tanker was targeted by a missile.

* Dec. 12: A Houthi spokesman said the group targeted Norwegian commercial tanker STRINDA. The attack took place about 60 miles (111 km) north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a U.S. official said.

* Dec. 9: Houthis said they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.

* Dec. 3: U.S. military said three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, as Houthis claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.

* Nov. 19: Israel said Houthis seized a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.

WHAT IS BAB AL-MANDAB?

* The Bab al-Mandab Strait, or the Gate of Tears, named for its perilous navigation, is the outlet of the Red Sea between Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.

* It is one of the world's most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or SUMED pipeline, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.

* Bab al-Mandab was the site of a naval blockade of Israel by Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

* Bab al-Mandab is 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, making tanker traffic difficult and limited to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, divided by the island of Perim.

* Around 7.80 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel shipments transited the strait in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 6.60 million bpd throughout 2022, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. On average, Vortexa tracked 27 tankers carrying crude or fuel each day in 2023, up from 20 last year.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Alex Richardson)