Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to launch significant attacks against international shipping and American military assets in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, demonstrating sustained combat capabilities despite a month of US-led airstrikes, according to reports from Newstalk ZB.
Houthi Attacks Threaten Critical Red Sea Shipping Lanes
The ongoing campaign by the insurgents—who have controlled Yemen’s capital of Sanaa and much of the country’s north since seizing them in 2014—is tied to Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Analysts warn that these persistent disruptions to international shipping through the crucial Red Sea corridor risk weighing heavily on the global economy.
Escalating Assaults on Commercial Vessels
Among the most serious direct hits on commercial shipping was an attack on the Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar, which was targeted by two anti-ship ballistic missiles, with one striking the vessel, according to the US military’s Central Command. The ship experienced propulsion problems and became inoperable, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, as reported by Newstalk ZB.
While Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed that the Rubymar sank, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the Associated Press showed the vessel still afloat just north of the Bab el-Mandeb with a large oil slick trailing behind it.
Additional commercial vessels have been targeted in the vital trade route linking Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The Houthis claimed an attack on the Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged and US-owned bulk carrier carrying grain from Argentina and bound for Aden, Yemen. The rebels also claimed an assault on the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Navis Fortuna, a vessel that had broadcast its destination as Italy with an all-Chinese crew in an attempt to avoid targeting. In late January, another direct hit set a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker ablaze for hours.
Drone Shootdowns and International Military Response
The conflict has also involved direct engagements between the rebels and military forces operating in the region. The Houthis released footage of what they described as a surface-to-air missile bringing down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of the Houthi-held Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeida. A US defense official acknowledged that an MQ-9 crashed off the coast of Yemen, and the Pentagon previously acknowledged the loss of an MQ-9 shot down by the rebels over the Red Sea in November. Since 2014, the US military has lost at least four drones to rebel shootdowns in 2017, 2019, and this year, according to The New Zealand Herald.
In response to the maritime threats, the European Union has launched its own campaign to protect shipping. France announced that it shot down two Houthi drones overnight in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, the US military has conducted counter-strikes targeting Houthi drone assets and surface-to-air missile launchers prior to their launch, while shooting down dozens of airborne missiles and drones since November. No US sailors or pilots have been wounded since American airstrikes began in January, though the US continues to deploy multimillion-dollar cruise missiles and lose drones worth tens of millions of dollars against insurgent forces utilizing cheaper weapons supplied by Iran.
