Houthi Linked Drones Intercepted By US And UK Forces In Red Sea

The American and British forces reported that a Royal Navy destroyer shot down another drone that was aimed at commercial vessels, while a U.S. warship, on Saturday, took down 14 alleged attack drones over the Red Sea.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to escalate, Houthi rebels in Yemen have begun a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, one of the busiest trade lanes in the world, as well as missiles and drones directed toward Israel.

The destroyer USS Carney “successfully engaged 14 autonomous aerial systems” that were fired from Yemeni regions under Houthi control, per U.S. Central Command. Central Command tweeted that the drones were shot down with no harm done to vessels in the area or confirmed injuries.

A statement from UK’s Defense Secretary Grant Shapps mentioned that a drone “targeting merchant shipping” was fired by HMS Diamond using a Sea Viper missile. Since the Gulf War in 1991, the Royal Navy has not fired an armed shot on an aircraft target until this past night.

Per Shapps, the Houthi rebels in Yemen’s attacks on commercial ships in the world trade route represent an immediate danger to international commerce as well as maritime security.
He released a statement saying that the U.K. remains dedicated to repelling such assaults to safeguard the free flow of global trade.

Two weeks ago, HMS Diamond was dispatched to the area together with other ships from the United States, France, and other nations as a deterrence. In the conflict between the nation of Israel and Hamas, which is supported by Iran like the Houthis, international shipping has grown into a target.

Eilat in southern Israel was the target of a drone assault, reported the Houthi rebels on Saturday. The news came out shortly after state-run media in Egypt claimed that the Egyptian air force had shot down a “flying object” near the resort town of Dahab.

While vessels with ties to Israel have also been targeted, the danger to commerce has increased as oil tankers and container ships flying the flags of nations like Norway and Liberia have come under attack or come under missile fire while navigating the waterway that connects the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

Three commercial vessels were hit by missiles that were fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen earlier this month in the Red Sea. During the attack, three drones were shot down by an American vessel, per the US military. All the vessels operated by French container shipping company CMA CGM were told on Saturday to pause their voyage in safe waters with immediately until further notice.

The largest shipping corporation in the world, Maersk, advised its vessels that were going to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea on Friday to halt their travels following a missile strike on a cargo ship flying the flag of Liberia. Hapag-Lloyd, a shipper with headquarters in Germany, stated that it would stop operating container vessels in the Red Sea till Monday.

Reference: CNBC

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Source: Maritime Shipping News