drone attacks, diverted container ships… What is the situation in the Red Sea?

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Attacks on merchant ships have increased since October. In question, the Houthi rebels of Yemen, who support Hamas.

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Coast guards from the government of Yemen, during a patrol in the Red Sea, off the city of Mokha (Yemen), December 12, 2023. (KHALED ZIAD / AFP)

Attacks are increasing in the Red Sea. The latest concerns the British destroyer HMS Diamondwho shot down a “suspected attack drone that targeted merchant shipping in the Red Sea” on the night of Friday to Saturday December 16, announced London.

Ufurther proof that the situation has become tense since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7. In question, the Yemeni Houthi rebels, close to Hamas and Iran, who have promised to target ships with links to Israel. Franceinfo takes stock of the situation in this area, which is strategic for world trade.

Missile and drone attacks claimed by the Houthis

In recent weeks, more than a dozen missiles and drones have targeted vessels sailing in the Red Sea. The attacks were claimed by the Houthis, who said they were targeting ships traveling off the coast of Yemen and with ties to Israel.

This political-military movement, which controls a large part of the country, belongs, like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, to a self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” against Israel, supported by Iran.

The Houthis carried out on Friday “a military operation against two container ships, MSC Alanya And MSC Palatium IIIwho were heading towards the Israeli entity”, said their military spokesperson, Yehya Sari. The attacks did not cause any casualties.

On Thursday, the rebels claimed a “military operation against a container ship, the Maersk Gibraltar“, which was heading towards Israel, without causing any damage. On Wednesday, it was the United States which announced that it had shot down a missile targeting one of its military ships, reports SkyNews. On Monday, a missile strike hit a Norwegian oil tanker without causing any casualties. On Saturday December 9, a French frigate was the target of a foiled attack carried out by two drones.

Shipowners suspend crossings in the area

Faced with the increase in attacks, several shipowners have decided to suspend crossings in the Red Sea. This is the case of the French shipowner CMA CGM, which took this decision on Saturday, valid “until further notice”. The day before is Danish shipping giant Maersk which ordered its ships to no longer use the strategic Bab el-Mandab Strait. The German group Hapag-Lloyd also explained on Friday that it was suspending crossings of its container ships on the Red Sea at least until Monday. The latest, the Italian-Swiss shipowner Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced on Saturday that its ships would no longer use the Suez Canal “until passage through the Red Sea is safe”after an attack targeting one of its ships on Friday.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the Houthis captured a ship belonging to an Israeli businessman in November 2023, is one of the main crossing points for global maritime trade. (HELOISE KROB / FRANCEINFO)

These announcements raise fears of negative impacts on international trade. This “motorway of the sea” linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, on which some 20,000 ships circulate each year, is a major geopolitical and commercial zone. Nearly 40% of international trade passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, according to figures from the Ministry of Defense. “The risk of a major barrier to trade remains significant”wrote researcher Noam Raydan of the Washington Institute on December 7 in a note on the subject.

The situation worries the international community

The increase in attacks worries the international community. Yemeni Houthi rebels “represent a concrete threat to free navigation” in the Red Sea, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in Tel Aviv on Friday. “Not only do these attacks endanger Israel’s security, they also threaten international shipping”German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized a few hours later.

Emmanuel Macron, after the European Council held on Friday in Brussels, defended the need to put in place a “European coordination to fight against these terrorist actions at sea”reports The Parisian. The situation prompted the United Kingdom to send the warship at the end of November HMS Diamond in the Gulf to respond to “growing concerns” on the security of maritime trade routes in the area.


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