Houthis Attack Another Vessel in the Red Sea

A ship in the Red Sea has been hit by a missile fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, a day after the Houthis said they would target every vessel bound for Israel.

The information came from two unnamed U.S. officials who spoke to the War Zone. Per the report, the target is a commercial vessel by the name of M/T Strinda and it was attacked some 60 miles from the Bab el Mandeb chokepoint.

The news comes a day after the Houthis said they would consider every ship bound for Israel a legitimate target.

Separately, the UK’s Office of Maritime Trade Operations released a warning for all commercial ships in the Red Sea today, saying that “an “Unknown Entity” claiming to be the Yemeni Navy over Radio Frequencies has Ordering for a Ship near the Strait to Divert their Course towards Ports in Yemen.”

“Out of concern for the safety of maritime navigation, we warn all ships and companies to avoid dealing with Israeli ports,” Yemen’s military spokesman Yahya Sare’e wrote on X, adding that “The Yemeni Armed Forces reaffirms its full commitment to the safe continuation of the global trade movement through the Red and Arab Seas for all ships and all countries with the exception of ships affiliated to Israel or transporting commodities to Israeli ports.”

The recent string of missile and drone attacks on vessels in the Red Sea has raised concerns about the security of oil shipments in the region. The concern, however, does not seem to be particularly acute, judging by oil price movements.

U.S. Navy forces in the region have been responding to the attacks, which has prompted calls for restraint from Saudi Arabia likely in a bid to avoid any further escalation of violence in a sensitive area for oil transport. The significance of these calls is especially notable in light of the fact that Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen for years.

Reuters has cited “senior sources in the Iran-aligned camp” as saying that the Houthis were using Red Sea attacks to pressure the U.S. to push Israel to cease its offensive on Gaza. Indeed, Yahya Sare’e's X thread noted that the attacks will cease if food and medicines are provided to Gazans.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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