The 14 “disposable attack drones” were shot down without there being any reports of damage to ships or injuries, the US military command for the Middle East (Centcom) said on Saturday on the online service X, formerly Twitter. The drones were fired from areas in Yemen controlled by the Houthi militias, it said.
Container giants are retreating
Several ships have been attacked from there in the past few days, which prompted the container giants MSC, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to withdraw from the area. The world’s largest container shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced on Saturday that it would no longer send ships through the Suez Canal for the time being. This is a response to the attack of one of its freighters. Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked the Liberian-flagged “Palatium III” with a drone in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab at the southern end of the Red Sea on Friday.
MSC said the ship had suffered fire damage and needed repairs. Crew members were not injured. MSC said it would route some ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. This will extend the journey times of ships booked to transit the Suez Canal by a few days. Before MSC, the container giants Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk had already announced that they wanted to avoid the affected passage.
Attack on merchant ships?
In London, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the warship “HMS Diamond” had shot down a suspected attack drone that targeted merchant ships in the Red Sea. “A Sea Viper missile was fired and successfully destroyed the target,” he wrote on X. Further attacks on freighters in the region were also reported on Friday, including on a German Hapag-Lloyd ship.
In Germany, the Association of German Shipowners (VDR) called for an international military alliance to protect civilian shipping in the Red Sea – with the involvement of the German Bundeswehr. “It would be appropriate if Germany were to participate accordingly,” said association president Martin Kröger on Bayerischer Rundfunk on Saturday. The USA, France and England are already present in the region with military ships, said Kröger. He made the comments after the German Defense Ministry announced that it was examining a naval deployment in the region at the request of the United States.
Internationally important route
The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked several ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks. In connection with the Suez Canal, the passage is particularly important for the oil trade in order to avoid costs for shipping around Africa. The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It is one of the world’s most important routes for shipping raw materials, particularly crude oil and fuel from the Gulf. The rebels, who control much of Yemen, have pledged to continue their attacks until Israel ends its offensive.
