Red Sea Drone and Missile Attacks Continue Under Deterred by Coalition

Attacks on commercial shipping coming from Yemen continued on Monday apparently undeterred by the multi-national coalition led by the United States. While no vessels reported being hit, the Houthi rebels reiterated that they are targeting Israeli shipping interests and ships trading with Israel.

There were two more incidents reported by the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) both coming from Yemen aimed at shipping in the southern zone of the Red Sea. In the first report, two vessels told UKMTO that they had sighted unmanned aerial crafts while they were approximately 50 nautical miles west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, and north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Approximately 15 minutes after sighting the drones, a vessel reported two explosions which it judged to be nearly five nautical miles from its position. The vessel that was communicating with the coalition said that there was no damage or injuries to its crew and it was proceeding.

A similar report from UKMTO warned of missiles also coming from Yemen. This incident took place approximately 60 nautical miles from Al Hudaydah with a vessel reporting sighting the missiles about four nautical miles from its position. Explosions were heard with the vessel reporting an explosion approximately half a nautical mile from its position. Again, there were no injuries to the crew and the vessel was continuing its voyage.

UKMTO is numbering these are the 21st and 22nd warnings it has issued in its role relaying information from the UK’s Royal Navy to the commercial shipping industry. The U.S. Pentagon separately asserted that more than 100 drones and missiles have been launched against commercial ships from 35 nations.

The shipping industry welcomed the news of the formation of the coalition and the international effort to enhance safety in the region. Maersk issued an operational update to customers dated December 24 reporting after a pause, adjusting, and diverting services due to safety concerns it had received confirmation that the multi-national security initiative had been deployed.

While thanking customers for their patience, Maersk said, “We are preparing to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea both eastbound and westbound. We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible.”  Last week, Maersk posted details on the changes showing that 15 of its service routes were impacted.

Carriers however are continuing to send the majority of their vessels around Africa at this time. Hapag-Lloyd has an online report that shows well over 100 vessels operated by the partners in The Alliance diverting with reports that it includes 25 of Hapag’s ships. A spokesperson for Hapag told Reuters today that the carrier was continuing to review the situation and was planning to decide tomorrow, Wednesday, on how it will proceed.

Other carriers including CMA CGM appear to be increasing the number of diversions. The French carrier on its website shows 14 northbound and 19 southbound voyages impacted. According to Reuters, last week CMA CGM was showing 22 trips impacted by the response to the attacks in the Red Sea.