As a German warship joins the fight against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea, the U.S Department of Defense told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that it has struck 230 targets in Yemen since the Biden administration ordered airstrikes last month.
On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command also said it shot down five Houthi airborne drones in the Red Sea overnight.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces struck Houthi land targets, hitting underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, air defense systems and other key targets. U.S. forces have also intercepted an Iranian vessel carrying missile parts to Yemen.
"Despite the Houthis' claims, these attacks are almost entirely unrelated to Israel and Israeli-affiliated shipping, and to be clear, any such attacks would be entirely illegitimate anyway. These are indiscriminate attacks that are as much an affront to maritime commerce as is piracy," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee, as reported by Bloomberg.
Shapiro also said the Houthi attacks have affected 55 countries who rely on trade through the Red Sea, with more than 12 major shippers suspending transit through the area to date, and insurance costs rising.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), approximately 7 million barrels per day of crude and petroleum products traverse the Red Sea, representing 12% of seaborne crude oil trade.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted in its February oil report that "while oil on water surged by 60 mb [million barrels] in December due to end-year tax considerations and as several tanker owners diverted ships away from the Red Sea to around the Cape of Good Hope, observed onshore stocks declined by nearly 40 mb".
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More
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