As the U.S. military builds up its presence in the Mideast in response to events in Iran, Yemen's Houthi rebel group has issued a new reminder of its ability to conduct strikes on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis conducted more than 100 attempted attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman in protest of the Israeli operation in Gaza, sinking four and killing at least 18 seafarers. (The group itself puts the number in excess of 200 strikes.) One of the damaged vessels that managed to escape, the tanker Marlin Luanda (since renamed Boccadasse), burned for nearly a day before responders managed to extinguish the fire and get the ship back under way to safety.
In a newly-released video, the Houthis' military media channel described the rationale for the attack and the method at a new level of detail. The tanker was operated by a firm in Britain under charter to Trafigura, and the Houthis decided that its movement through the Red Sea was a "violation" of their self-declared blockade on nations allied with Israel.
The cargo aboard Marlin Luanda was Russian-origin naphtha, a key ingredient in gasoline and in certain military grades of jet fuel (JP-4). Given this substance's potential military applications, and the ship's Western ties, the Houthi forces selected Marlin Luanda for targeting. (Foreign analysts have questioned the quality of the vetting method that Houthi leaders used for target selection, as several targets had links to Houthi-friendly nations.)
Houthi forces launched a single anti-ship ballistic missile at Marlin Luanda, striking the deck forward of the wheelhouse. No crewmembers were injured in the attack, but the vessel was damaged and a cargo fire began to burn.
Three warships responded to the scene, including the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney, the French frigate Alsace and the Indian destroyer INS Visakhapatnam. At considerable risk, the Indian warship contributed a team of 10 damage controlmen to fight the fire directly aboard Marlin Luanda, working in tandem with the tanker's firefighting team. IMO later recognized Marlin Luanda's master and crew for their response efforts with the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
The Houthis' messaging accompanying the newly-released video of the Marlin Luanda strike appears to threaten further acts of retaliation. "By the grace of God Almighty, 228 ships have been targeted during the Battle of the Promised Conquest and the Holy Jihad, and what is to come is even greater, and victory comes only from God," the video narrator said in closing.
The timing of the release has been interpreted by some analysts as a form of geopolitical messaging. Tensions between the U.S. and Tehran are on the rise once more. The government of Iran, the Houthi movement's primary foreign sponsor, has launched a brutal crackdown on its own citizens for attempting to protest the nation's dire economic conditions. The Trump administration has threatened strikes on the Iranian regime in response, and has begun a regional military buildup. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group entered the Central Command area of responsibility over the weekend, putting them in range for a possible Iran contingency. If the U.S. were to strike, Houthi leaders have the option of suspending their ceasefire and relaunching attacks on Red Sea shipping in retaliation - just as the route is beginning to attract the return of more commercial shipping.
Source: maritime-executive.com
