In the night between Sunday and Monday there was a new attack against a commercial ship transiting the Red Sea, also in this case claimed by the Houthis, the Shiite armed group that controls the north-west of Yemen and is supported by Iran. It’s about the attack more serious carried out so far by the Houthis. The vessel, a British commercial vessel flying the flag of Belize, was hit by a series of missiles, and according to a Houthi spokesperson risks time to sink. The crew was evacuated to a nearby ship.
In recent months the Houthis have struck dozens of boats transiting the Red Sea, in what they have presented as retaliation for Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip. In fact, the attacks involved ships from various Western countries, not necessarily linked to Israel, and caused major problems in global trade: following the attacks, several companies stopped operating in that stretch of sea, considered unsafe, and to move between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean they had to face much longer routes, with an increase in prices on many goods transported.
The ship attacked between Sunday and Monday is called Rubymar: it was located about 65 kilometers south of the Yemeni port city of Mocha, it had left Saudi Arabia and was headed towards Bulgaria. The Rubymar was hit by two missiles, according to reports said from maritime consultancy firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The missiles caused an explosion and some damage. According to British maritime safety firm Ambrey, the crew on board have been transferred to another commercial vessel.
Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday announced the launch of a naval mission in the Red Sea to protect commercial ships transiting there. In a statement following the approval of the measure by the foreign ministers of the member countries, it was specified that the Union mission has a defensive purpose: it will serve to monitor the maritime situation, accompany the ships and protect them from possible attacks at sea, without however participating in attacks of a military nature, as in the case of the bombings carried out in Yemen by the United States and United Kingdom in retaliation for ship attacks.
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