(Dubai) A Greek bulk carrier was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen, the private maritime risks company Ambrey said on Tuesday, the day after a similar attack on an American ship claimed by the Yemeni Houthi rebels.
The Maltese-flagged ship “was hit by a missile while crossing the southern Red Sea heading north,” Ambrey said, adding that the bulk carrier had continued on its route.
The British maritime safety agency, UKMTO, reported an “incident” northwest of the Yemeni town of Saleef, without providing details.
According to Ambrey, the bulk carrier owned by a Greek company was heading towards the Suez Canal. This ship and others belonging to the same fleet have stopped in Israel since October 7, she said.
The Yemeni Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, have in recent weeks increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships they suspect of being linked to Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza facing the war between the Islamist movement Hamas and Israel.
The attacks in the Red Sea, through which 12% of world trade passes, prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to strike rebels in Yemen on Friday and Saturday, who responded on Monday by firing a missile against an American cargo ship, without causing injuries or major damage.
The “dangerous escalation” in the Red Sea will affect the transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), “like all other merchant cargoes,” warned the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani, on Tuesday during the World Economic Forum in Davos (eastern Switzerland).
The Houthi attacks have forced many shipowners to avoid the area and take a longer route around the tip of Africa, at the cost of increased transport costs and longer delivery times.
“There are alternative routes, but these routes […] are less efficient than the current route,” stressed the Qatari prime minister, whose country is one of the largest LNG producers in the world.
The Bloomberg news agency reported on Monday that at least five LNG ships operated by Qatar, which were heading towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa, had arrested off the coast of Oman.
Questioned about the American-British strikes, Mohammed ben Abdulrahmane Al-Thani, however, estimated that the military solution will “not put an end to this situation and will not contain it”.