A group of warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and have entered the Red Sea, Russian state media reported on Thursday, citing the press service of the Pacific Fleet.
The area is crowded with ships from Western Navies which are looking to protect commercial ships from the attacks launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.
The Russian detachment included missile cruiser Varyag and frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, which crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea, the Pacific Fleet’s press service said, without clarifying the reason except that the warships came from the Gulf of Aden, where they had drills “on various scenarios of the actions of a mock enemy.”
The Russian warships were carrying out “assigned tasks as part of a long-distance sea campaign,” Russian news agency TASS reported, citing the Russian Pacific Fleet’s press service.
Tensions in the region have been high since early this year, when the Houthis intensified attacks on commercial vessels crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait en route to and from the Red Sea, forcing many ship owners and operators to suspend the Suez Canal/Red Sea route for transporting goods from Europe to Asia and vice versa.
Just this weekend, Houthi forces struck a tanker owned and operated by a company based in Hong Kong, the U.S. Central Command has reported, calling the vessel “Chinese”.
The Huang Pu, which was sailing under a Panamanian flag, was targeted with five anti-ship missiles on Saturday, CENTCOM said. The ship sent a distress signal but did not ask for assistance, the U.S. Naval Institute cited Central Command as saying.
The maritime transport disruption due to the attacks is diverting ship traffic along the longer route between Asia and Europe via Africa, pushing global demand for oil higher, and tightening inventories. The situation may well contribute to a deficit later in the year, according to some analysts.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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