Yemen: Greek ship attacked reveals the danger of Houthi terrorism to maritime navigation
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia claimed last Friday that it had targeted a cargo ship off an oil terminal in southern Yemen, and the militia justified its terrorist attack on cargo ships and the threat to international shipping by preventing the internationally recognized Yemeni army from using the ships to export oil.
Global navigation threat
The attack on Nessos Kea marked the first declared military action since the end of the truce in the country earlier this month, according to AFP, which once again pointed to the potential danger posed by Houthi militias to commercial ships passing or stopping in Yemen. The attack took place in Shihr, Yemen, near the city of Mukalla, about 585 kilometers (360 miles) east of the capital Sana’a, which has been controlled by militias in territory held by pro-government forces for years. Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp., owner of the Athens-based Nessos Kea, said that there were “two explosions carried out by a drone near the ship while it was trying to load in the port.” It added that the real danger of terrorist acts is the presence of a crude oil pipeline with a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day passing by the port. The agency added that the explosions had a slight impact on the ship. The company said that all the crew members were safe and unharmed, “There was no damage to the ship and no pollution”. Satellite data showed that Nessos Kea was off the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden in international waters and sailing towards Oman on Saturday. British Army Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors traffic in the Middle East, acknowledged an “incident” off Shihr port on Friday, but only said the ship and its crew were safe.
Reply Options
The internationally-recognized Yemeni government condemned the attack, saying “all options are open to deal with this terrorist act” and warned that it could negatively affect any further peace talks. It also said that Friday’s strike was the third in recent days of Houthi-guided planes being shipped in its territory, after another ship was targeted on Tuesday and Wednesday in the port of Radom in the central part of the Yemeni coast on the Gulf of Aden. “International authorities have never acknowledged these strikes, as AFP reported, since 2014 war has broken out in Yemen between Houthi militias and pro-government forces, and the Iran-backed Houthis swept out of the mountains in 2014, occupying northern Yemen and the country’s capital and forcing the internationally recognized government into exile into Saudi Arabia.” Two thirds of the population receives food assistance.
