On the morning of the 19th local time in Yemen, Yahya Sarria, the military spokesman of the Yemeni Houthi armed forces, issued a statement saying that the Houthi armed forces attacked the British freighter "Rubymar" with missiles and said that the ship was seriously damaged. At risk of sinking in the Gulf of Aden.
The British Maritime Trade Organization said: "Military authorities reported that the crew had abandoned the ship." "The ship anchored and all crew members are safe." The ship may become the first ship to sink after being attacked by Houthi armed forces.
According to the British company Embry Security Risk Management, what was attacked in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was a "Belize-flagged, British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo ship" that was sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Bulgaria at the time of the incident.
So far, in less than a week, three merchant ships have been attacked one after another.
Previously, local British media stated on the 18th that a crude oil tanker flying the Panamanian flag and bound for India was hit by a missile in the Red Sea.
According to the US State Department, the missile was launched from the Houthi armed forces in Yemen and hit the port side of the USS Pollux crude oil tanker.
The British Maritime Trade Action Office and the British maritime security intelligence company Embry claimed that a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker was allegedly hit by a missile 72 nautical miles northwest of the Yemeni port of Muha (1 nautical mile is approximately 1.852 kilometers). "This tanker suffered minor damage and all personnel on board are safe."
According to Reuters, Yemen’s Houthi armed spokesman Yahya Saraya issued a statement on the 17th saying that the organization launched missiles at the British oil tanker Pollux in the Red Sea.
According to reports, the tanker attacked was a British tanker flying the Panama flag, carrying crude oil bound for India. The Houthi armed forces claimed to have carried out an "accurate and direct" attack on it using multiple missiles, but did not disclose details of the time of the attack and the extent of the damage to the tanker.
As the Red Sea crisis continues to escalate, against this background, following the United States, the European Union also organized and launched the Red Sea escort operation.
Shipping giant Maersk recently stated that the company believes that the Red Sea crisis may last until the second half of this year and advises customers to prepare for this possibility.
Charles van der Steene, president of Maersk North America, told the media, "Unfortunately, we now believe that the Red Sea will not change soon, and the detour may continue into the second quarter or even the third quarter. Our advice is that customers Need to ensure their supply chains accommodate longer transit times."
According to U.S. defense data, the Houthis have threatened commercial ships more than 46 times since November last year. Despite the U.S. military campaign, Maersk remains cautious. van der Steene said he has told some U.S. companies to remain vigilant in assessing the situation in the Red Sea and to remain flexible in their supply chains.
van der Steene said that in order to keep trade flowing, Maersk added about 6% of additional ship capacity, which also increased the company's operating costs. In last week's earnings report, Maersk executives wrote that there was a "high degree of uncertainty" about the company's 2024 earnings outlook, citing continued tensions in the Red Sea and an oversupply of shipping vessels.
Red Sea diversions are still on the rise as continued attacks on ships in the region prompt more shipping companies to avoid transiting the region...
