The United States announced on Friday January 26 that it had destroyed a ballistic missile fired “from areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis”, while these rebels close to Iran are increasing attacks against merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The anti-ship missile was heading towards the location of an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer and was destroyed without making “no injuries, no damage”announced the American Military Command in the Middle East.
This new American strike comes after weeks of tensions in the Red Sea, an essential artery for international trade. Previously, the British maritime safety agency UKMTO reported that two missiles exploded Friday near a ship off southern Yemen. “The ship and crew are safe”UKMTO said, indicating that the explosion occurred in the water 60 nautical miles southwest of the city of Aden.
Maritime risk management company Ambrey also reported a ” blast “ in the same area, about a meter from a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker affiliated with India. “The ship had last been loaded in Russia and was heading east”added the company.
Houthi missile and drone launch sites targeted
Since November, Houthi rebels have fired numerous missiles and drones off the coast of Yemen, saying they target ships linked to Israel in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, territory bombed and besieged by the Israeli army since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 which caused 1,140 deaths.
In response, US forces, sometimes jointly with the UK, have carried out a series of strikes targeting the Houthis in an attempt to deter them from continuing to attack merchant ships, without success so far. The American strikes particularly targeted missile and drone launch sites. On Thursday, Washington and London announced sanctions against four senior Houthi officials, accused of being involved in organizing these attacks.
The Houthis control much of Yemen, after nearly a decade of war against the government that has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. These tensions have pushed certain shipowners to suspend transits through the Red Sea, which normally sees up to 12% of world trade, and to bypass Africa to reach Asia and Europe.
Trade volume transiting the Suez Canal down 42%
The repercussions on maritime traffic and global trade are already being felt. According to the United Nations, the volume of trade passing through the Suez Canal, a crucial passage linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, has decreased by 42% over the past two months.
The disruptions to trade in the Red Sea are all the more worrying as “more than 80%” of global trade in goods is carried out by sea and that “other important roads are already under tension”underlines UNCTAD, the UN body responsible for trade and development.
On Thursday, a delegation of Houthis visited Moscow to discuss the “need to step up pressure efforts” on the United States and Israel in order to end the war in Gaza and“deliver humanitarian aid rather than militarizing the Red Sea”according to a rebel spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam.