According to CCTV News, on December 16, local time, the U.S. Central Command said that the U.S. destroyer USS Carney shot down 14 drones from Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea on the same day. It is reported that the operation did not cause any damage to the ships in the area, and no casualties have been reported so far.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Yemen's Houthi rebels said on the 15th that the group fired missiles at two ships heading for Israel. The U.S. Central Command said the three ships were threatened by the Houthis and that the attack caused no casualties. The two shipping companies announced the suspension of sailing in the Red Sea on the same day.
The Houthis said in a statement that the group fired missiles at the container ships Alania and Paratyum 3, both bound for Israel, Reuters reported.
"We will continue to block all ships heading to Israeli ports until the food and medicine needed by the people of the Gaza Strip arrive," the statement said, adding, "We assure all ships bound for ports other than Israel that they will not be harmed." They must have the identification device turned on. ”
However, according to the maritime traffic website, both the Alania and Paratiyum 3 have Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah as their destination.
According to the U.S. Central Command, a Houthi drone hit the Liberian-flagged ship "Jesla" in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the 15th, causing a fire that was extinguished. In another attack, the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles, one of which hit the Liberian-flagged container ship Paratium-3 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, also causing a fire. The American warship "Mason" responded to the distress request of the "Paratium-3".
The U.S. Central Command said that earlier on the 15th, the "Alania" was heading north in the southern part of the Red Sea, and the Houthis threatened to attack the ship and make it turn around and head south.
"No injuries have been reported on any of the three vessels, but the latest round of attacks has shown once again that the Houthi actions pose a significant risk to international shipping. U.S. Central Command said.
According to Reuters, the Houthi statement did not mention the Jessra.
A spokesman for the German company Hapag-Lloyd, the owner of the Jesra, said the ship was attacked while sailing off the coast of Yemen. "Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to ensure the safety of those on board," the company announced on the 15th that it would suspend all container ship transportation through the Red Sea until the 18th.
Ambri, the British maritime security company, said the Alanya, which is part of the Mediterranean shipping company, was forced to evade measures after Houthi fighters on a small boat ordered it not to sail north into the Red Sea and change course to Yemen.
Ambri said the Paratyum 3 was attacked while heading north southwest of the Yemeni port city of Muha and received the same warning as the Alaniya. The Paratyum-3 is also part of the MSC.
Later on the 14th, the Houthis also claimed to have launched a military operation against a container ship of the Danish Maersk Shipping Group, hitting the ship with a drone. Maersk Line denied the claim, saying the ship was not hit. However, the company said on the 15th that it would suspend all container transportation through the Red Sea and let ships detour. According to the Associated Press, Maersk Line is the world's largest container shipping company.
According to CCTV News reported on December 13, people in the international shipping industry and insurance industry said on December 12 that a number of cargo ships were attacked in the Red Sea and nearby waters this month, and this tension has contributed to the rise of war risk rates.
Analysts are concerned that international supply chains will inevitably be disrupted if tensions in the Red Sea and nearby waters rise and the shipping industry is further disrupted.
The London insurance market has classified the southern waters of the Red Sea as a high-risk area. Merchant ships passing through this area need to inform the insurer in advance and purchase additional war insurance.
Reuters reported that according to the insurance market estimate on the 12th, the related war risk rate was 0.07% last week, some rose to 0.1% to 0.15% this week, and some rose to 0.2%.
Some shipping companies have adjusted their shipping routes to avoid the Red Sea and detour around the Cape of Good Hope at the southwestern tip of Africa, but this has meant more shipping days and a significant increase in costs.
Since the outbreak of the new Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked targets in Red Sea waters using missiles and drones. On November 19, the Houthis announced the detention of the Israeli-linked cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea. Earlier this month, the Houthis confirmed missile and drone attacks on the merchant ships Unity Explorer and Ninth sailing in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On December 11, the group launched a missile attack on a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker, saying it was carrying "oil destined for Israel."
According to CCTV News, on December 5, local time, Hussein Ezie, head of the diplomatic department of Yemen's Houthi rebels, said on social networking sites that if Israel continues to provoke, the Houthis will block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
He said the Houthis were fully capable of blocking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and wrote a sign that read "This is closed until further notice", but the Houthis do not want to do so at the moment. Israel should refrain from any provocations, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should "pick up the international law under his feet" before the Houthis take any action. He also said that Israel would pay a long-term price if the Houthis took such action. He also stressed that the Houthis will not stop their actions against Israel until they stop their attacks on Gaza.
The statement was the first time that the Houthis threatened to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after Israel called on Britain and Japan to form a naval force to protect the activities of ships in the Red Sea.
Located at the southern end of the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Duncan Potts, the head of a security enterprise who was a former commander of the British Navy, said about 23,000 ships pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait every year.
Many are concerned that not only are Israeli-linked vessels at increased risk in navigating the Red Sea and nearby waters, but other merchant ships may also be implicated. According to Potts, such attacks "not only pose regional geopolitical risks, but may even pose a global strategic economic threat."
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICBC) recently called for an "immediate cessation of such attacks".
Editor|Sun Zhicheng Du Bo
Proofreading|Chen Keming
The daily economic news is synthesized from CCTV news and Xinhua News Agency
National Business Daily