Houthi Rebels Target Norwegian Tanker en Route to Israel
The Iran-backed Houthis assaulted another commercial shipping vessel sailing off the coast of Yemen on Monday.
In a televised announcement on Tuesday, Houthi military spokesperson Yehia Sareea confirmed the attack, stating that the Norwegian tanker STRINDA was targeted with a rocket after the ship’s crew refused to respond to warnings while sailing north of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Sareea claims that the STRINDA was en route to an Israeli port when struck and reiterated the group’s December 9 warning that all ships traveling to Israel via the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, regardless of nationality, would be subject to Houthi aggression until Israel allowed additional food and medical aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
US Central Command confirmed the attack, announcing in a post on X that a missile launched by the Houthis had hit the STRINDA on Monday, and a US Navy destroyer was responding to the vessel’s distress call.
“The STRINDA reported damage causing a fire on board, but no casualties at this time,” the post added.
Over the past month, Houthi aggression against ships in and around the Bab el-Mandeb strait has escalated considerably. On December 3, the US military reported that three civilian vessels had come under fire from drones and rockets operated by the Yemen-based group. On November 19, the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo liner, was seized and forced to dock in Hodeida, where it remains.
Situated at the confluence of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the Bab el-Mandeb strait borders Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea. It is one of the global economy’s busiest shipping lanes, playing a vital role in facilitating the passage of crude oil from the Gulf states to Europe via the Suez Canal.
As of Tuesday, the Israel Navy announced that one of its newly operational Sa’ar 6-class corvette warships, the INS Magen, would be docked in Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat and deployed to the Red Sea to assist the US Navy in countering Houthi hostilities.
