MBS Announces Red Sea Sustainability Strategy

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman unveiled on Wednesday the National Red Sea Sustainability Strategy. This initiative aims to protect the Red Sea, empower local communities, and transition to a blue economy, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030 and the recently announced national priorities for research, development, and innovation (RDI), particularly in the areas of sustainable environment and essential needs.

Speaking on the occasion, the Crown Prince emphasized Saudi Arabia’s efforts to unlock its vast economic, geographical and cultural potential while championing sustainability and environmental conservation.

He described the strategy as pivotal in establishing the blue economy as a core component of the Kingdom’s diversified economy.

“The Kingdom aspires for the Red Sea region to become a global reference for leading blue economy activities and reaffirms its commitment to a sustainable future for the Red Sea,” he said, calling for collective efforts to safeguard the Red Sea coast and the communities that rely on it.

The Red Sea, covering 186,000 square kilometers with a coastline stretching 1,800 kilometers, is one of the world’s most bio-diverse regions. It is home to the fourth-largest barrier reef system, 6.2% of global coral reefs, and hundreds of islands.

The strategy outlines a comprehensive framework to preserve and regenerate these natural treasures while ensuring their enjoyment and sustainability for future generations. It also demonstrates how protecting the environment can unlock the economic potential of the region and initiate the transition to a blue economy.

This transition will create investment opportunities in various marine sectors such as ecotourism, fisheries, renewable energy, water desalination, shipping, and industry.

A key component of the strategy is its ambitious vision for 2030. It aims to expand marine and coastal protected areas from 3% to 30%, increase the contribution of renewable energy to 50% of the energy mix, and create thousands of new jobs linked to blue economy activities.

Furthermore, it seeks to safeguard Saudi Arabia’s substantial investments in coastal tourism, which are expected to make significant contributions to the national GDP.

The strategy is built around five main objectives: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Development, Social Development, Safety and Security, and Governance and Collaboration. Within this framework, 48 targeted initiatives have been developed to support the Kingdom’s aspirations for the blue economy.

New Red Sea Services Launched

According to Seatrade Maritime News, global line Ocean Network Express (ONE) and regional player SeaLead have announced new services calling at ports in, or at the entrance to, the Red Sea.

Ocean Network Express (ONE) said is launching a new weekly service Red Sea Gulf India 2 (RG2). The new service calls Mundra, Jebel Ali, Jeddah, Sohkna, and Aqaba.

The new service will provide additional coverage as well as increasing connectivity and frequency to the Red Sea, on top of ONE’s existing Red Sea Gulf India Service (RGI).

The largest container lines, including ONE, have rerouted nearly all their long-haul services between Asia – Europe/ Med and the US East Coast via the Cape of Good Hope due to the security situation in the Red Sea and to avoid the threat of Houthi attack.

ONE has also suspended its Asia Red Sea 1 service which normally connects Northeast Asia and Red Sea via Southeast Asia.

However, for trades within the Middle East region to Red Sea ports there are few other viable options than to continue sailing through the Red Sea.

Regional player SeaLead is one of those that has continued to sail through the Red Sea and has add3d a new Far East India Djibouti (FID) service that starts on September 05, 2024.

New service calls Djibouti which is on the African shore of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway at the southern entrance to the Red Sea where the Houthi in Yemen have launched attacks on commercial ships transiting the waters since last November.

Suleyman Avci, Global Chief Executive Officer at SeaLead, said, "This service is a strategic step forward, enhancing our capabilities in China, India, and East Africa. By leveraging Djibouti's crucial maritime hub, which connects the Red Sea, we are providing greater coverage and ensuring faster, more reliable connections for our customers, solidifying SeaLead's role in shaping global trade."

The FID service originates in Shanghai, calling Ningbo, Nansha, Port Klang, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra before reaching Djibouti.

According to SeaLead’s website it operates an India – Turkiye service, Turkiye – Red Sea that connects to the Port of Jeddah, and a China – East Asia – Turkiye route, all of which transit the Red Sea.

 

Russian crude drives dark fleet demand

Dark fleet tankers and risky Suez transits are having little impact on India’s soaring imports of Russian crude, now running at 20 times the volume shipped prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

Analysis by New York broker, Poten & Partners, has revealed that Indian imports of heavily sanctioned Russian crude have increased to almost 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd), up from just 88,000 bpd prior to the invasion in February 2022.

At that time, Russia ranked ninth on India’s list of oil suppliers, with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE supplying about 60% of the country’s crude. The three Middle East nations were followed by the US and Nigeria.

Prior to the invasion, Russian crude had not been attractive to Indian refiners because of logistical constraints. None of Russia’s main export ports in the Baltic, the Black Sea or the Far East can load VLCCs, Poten pointed out, so Russian cargoes were shipped aboard Aframax and Suezmax tankers.  

However, the picture changed dramatically following the 2022 invasion when western nations imposed sanctions on Russian crude. This was largely driven by price. Until the invasion, ‘Dated Brent’ and Urals crude had traded broadly in parity but, following sanctions, ‘official’ Urals prices were an average of US$10-20 lower. Since deals involving Russian crude are shrouded in secrecy, Poten’s analysis has revealed that actual discounts could be much higher, possibly as much as US$40 a barrel.  

Much of the new Soviet crude was bought based on spot prices and arranged by Russian oil traders, many of them in Dubai, who charge ‘significant commissions’ for their services. But over recent months, the discount of Urals to Brent crude has narrowed, making the crude less attractive.

Meanwhile, the tanker trade from Russia to India has become more challenging, Poten said. Sanctions now restrict the use of Western shipping services including owners, brokers, and insurers when the Soviet crude price exceeds the ‘price cap’ of US$60 per barrel. This has forced Indian importers to rely on tankers in the so-called dark fleet – ships that may be old, poorly maintained, with dodgy crews and questionable insurance cover.

The dangers of the dark fleet have been highlighted by the recent collision between the Sao Tome and Principe VLCC Ceres I and the Singapore-registered product tanker Hafnia Nile, where the VLCC later attempted to flee the scene of the accident.

The US and EU are trying to ‘tighten the noose’ around these sanctions-busting shipowners. The availability of suitable ships could soon become a problem, possibly even limiting Russia’s export possibilities. At the same time, conflict in the Middle East is making this worse.

The dark fleet tankers on the route from Russia to India often take the shortcut through Suez, Poten said, even though the Houthis are increasing their strikes against ships in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandeb Straits. But the voyage round the Cape takes far longer and is much more expensive.

Despite these setbacks, Poten reports that Indian refiners are now in dialogue with Soviet suppliers on term deals, rather than spot contracts. This could reduce transaction costs by cutting out the middlemen.

“It would also suggest that the boost in ton-mile demand that has helped trigger the sustained increase in tanker rates may be here to stay,” Poten concluded.  

Courtesy: Seatrade Maritime News

 

Houthis attack cargo ship in Gulf of Aden

According to Reuters, Houthis have hit and damaged a Singapore-flagged container ship with two missiles on Friday as they escalate attacks on global shipping over Israel's war in Gaza.

The overnight assault on the Lobivia cargo ship came as Houthis also claimed responsibility for a fiery, long-range aerial drone strike in the center of Tel Aviv that killed one man and wounded four others.

The Houthis in recent weeks have become more adept at inflicting damage on their targets. In June, they struck the Greek-owned Tutor coal carrier with missiles and an explosive-laden remote-controlled boat, causing it to sink.

"Their capacity, their access to more sophisticated weapons, has only increased over the course of this conflict," said Gerald Feierstein, director of the Arabian Peninsula Affairs Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree in a television speech on Friday said the group launched the Lobivia strikes, adding that the assault also included drones. The manager of Lobivia did not immediately comment.

Lobivia was in the Gulf of Aden when the missiles struck two areas on its port side, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in an incident report.

The ship was located 83 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's port city of Aden during the attack. All crew are reported safe and the ship was returning to its last port of call, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

"The ship was transiting northeast along the Gulf of Aden when a merchant vessel in the vicinity observed 'light and blast' where the ship was located," British security firm Ambrey said.

The ship appeared to perform evasive manoeuvres immediately and switch off her automatic identification system approximately an hour later, Ambrey said.

On Tuesday, the Houthis hit the Liberia-flagged oil tanker Chios Lion with a drone boat, causing damage to the port side that left an oily trail that experts said appeared to be fuel.

Britain and the US have conducted retaliatory strikes since February, shooting down drones and bombing attack sites in Yemen.

That has come at a significant cost, said Feierstein, who was the US Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen from 2010 to 2013 under President Barack Obama.

"We're basically spending a million dollars every time we shoot down a Radio Shack drone. That's wearing on the Navy and wearing on our supplies," he said.

 

Houthis target more vessels in retaliation

According to Reuters, Yemen's Houthis targeted three vessels, including an oil tanker, in the Red and Mediterranean seas with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the latest Houthi military operations were a response to the Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Saturday, an attack that killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In dozens of attacks since November 2023, the Houthis have sunk two vessels and seized another, killed at least three sailors and upended global trade by forcing ship owners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut.

It recently has become more effective at damaging ships largely through using unmanned, armed watercraft that damage a vessel's vulnerable waterline.

In a televised speech, Saree said the Houthis have targeted the Bentley I refined products carrier and the Chios Lion oil tanker in the Red Sea.

US Central Command late on Monday confirmed those attacks and said no damage or injuries had been reported.

The Houthis said it also joined the Iraqi Islamic Resistance in targeting the Olvia in the Mediterranean Sea. Reuters could not independently verify that attack.

Managers of the Panama-flagged Bentley I, Liberia-flagged Chios Lion and Cyprus-flagged Olvia could not be immediately reached for comment.

Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that two vessels came under attack in the Red Sea off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, with one ship reporting it had sustained some damage.

A vessel 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah was attacked by an uncrewed drone boat that hit its port side, causing some damage and light smoke.

Another merchant vessel, 70 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, came under attack by three small watercraft, UKMTO and security firm Ambrey said separately.

The Master of that ship reported being attacked by three small craft. One of those watercraft was unmanned and twice collided with the ship as passengers on the other two boats fired on the ship. The vessel conducted "self-protection measures" and after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack, UKMTO said.

Later in what appeared to be two separate attacks, the Master reported four projectiles exploding near the vessel.

Both the vessel and crew were reported as safe and proceeding to the next port of call, Ambrey said.

Since November 2023, Houthi militants in Yemen have launched drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The group says these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel's war in Gaza.

US and British have conducted retaliatory strikes since February - shooting down drones and bombing attack sites in Yemen.

At least 65 countries and major energy and shipping companies have been affected by Houthi attacks, according to a report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

Examining Maritime Security Concerns

Judging from reports published during the second quarter, one might assume that the greatest maritime security concerns for operators of the merchant fleet in Asia are centered on the South China Sea’s Saint Thomas Shoal and the Taiwan Strait.

As is true on all the world’s waters, awareness of the potential threats amongst vessel operators and crew is the best defence in mitigating all potential consequences, whether great or small. While the threat levels in Asia are not as significant as those in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, the significance and nature of the threats do change, and therefore require continued attention.

While the Chinese military forces do conduct significant military exercises along the Taiwanese coast while the Chinese Coast Guard continues its provocations aimed at the Philippines Navy, to date neither activity has resulted with significant consequences for merchant shipping plying these waters. Opportunistic armed robbers and thieves have maintained their focus on the profits to be gained from stealing vessels’ equipment and spare parts in areas farther to the south and west.

Risk Intelligence, as part of its daily security incident analysis and monitoring operations, tallied a total of 22 reported vessel boardings in Asian waters during the second quarter, with half of these taking place along the Singapore Strait. In a distant second place in terms of the number of vessel boardings is Chittagong, Bangladesh, where two thefts and one inconsequential boarding took place at the anchorage. Dumai with two boardings trailed Chittagong, the site of one theft and one inconsequential boarding at the anchorage, while armed robberies, thefts and inconsequential boardings were also recorded at Vung Tau, Manila, Belawan and Balikpapan.

Chittagong’s second place standing behind the Singapore Strait has drawn attention amongst stakeholders, including ReCAAP which in June issued a special report that compared the single reported vessel boarding in Bangladeshi waters during 2023 with nine reported boardings between January 01 and May 31 this year.

While the dramatic nine-fold increase is cause for concern, this year’s decline in the number of incidents from seven in Q1 to three in Q2 may be grounds for cautious optimism.

It is also worthy to note that when the theft of property from vessels is promptly reported to the Bangladeshi authorities, they have an admirable record of apprehending the perpetrators and returning the stolen items.

Like all categories of crime, whether on land or at sea, there is a significant degree of under reporting, therefore the tally of known boardings does not represent the actual crime level within any straits, anchorage areas or ports in Asia.

When assessing such statistics, it is also important to bear in mind that the generic term ‘piracy’ is now applied to a wide range of crimes, from vessel hijackings and seafarer kidnappings to armed robberies and thefts, a practice that can be misleading.

Similarly, the accuracy of the respective statistics hinges on the severity of the crimes, with statistics for hijackings and kidnappings being far more accurate than statistics for armed robberies and thefts.

A vessel operator is far more motivated to report a hijacking or kidnapping during which the fate of vessels and seafarers is at stake as compared to a theft of engine spare parts, for obvious reasons. With that in mind, there is high confidence that an absence of reports of hijackings and kidnappings in Asia reflects an actual absence of such crimes during Q2, while the number of reports of armed robberies and thefts tallied in the same period is unlikely to reflect the true scope of these less significant yet still serious crimes.

Not all vessel types are targeted by criminals in Asia. There have been no recorded incidents involving cruise ships, and no container vessels have recently been targeted while navigating the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Bulk carriers continue to be the most frequently targeted ships, in particular when reducing speed to transit the Singapore Strait, followed by tankers and barges. Vessels with low freeboard such as OSVs and heavy lift vessels, both offering easy access to perpetrators on sampans, also remain vulnerable.

The area with the highest frequency of vessel boardings continues to be the Singapore Strait, with 50% of the boardings in the second quarter taking place within the strait’s recognized International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) boundaries. Here nine of the 11 incidents involved vessels underway, while two involved ships situated at anchorages off Batam. Further illustrating the strait’s position as the primary area of armed robberies and thefts, June 2024 was the first month since May 2021 during which all reported maritime security incidents in Southeast Asia took place within the boundaries of the Singapore Strait.

As has been the case for several years regarding the Singapore Strait, bulk carriers are most often targeted, followed by tankers and barges. In Q2, seven of the 11 incidents involved bulk carriers, with the remainder involving one heavy lift vessel, an OSV and two barges, from which thieves seek scrap metal cargo.

Despite the frequency of Singapore Strait boardings, in most cases the crew is unharmed, while the perpetrators focus on taking spare parts and equipment that they can sell onshore. In a marked improvement from previous years, at this time merchant shipping in Asia is not facing more significant consequences stemming from hijackings or kidnappings.

Maritime security concerns in Asia are not limited to the aforementioned geopolitical activities in the South China Sea and piracy in the broader sense. While merchant ships navigate these waters they are surrounded by a significant level of migrant smuggling with a dark fleet seeking to operate under the radar, and drug and contraband smuggling.

Currently these activities have not had significant impact on merchant ships, although monitoring this activity remains necessary in light of potential future consequences.

In Asia large tankers transporting sanctioned oil cargoes have sought to disguise their activities by using the names and particulars of innocent traders in AIS broadcasts, with implications for the operators of the vessels subject to such identity theft. Smaller vessels illegally buying, selling and storing fuel comprise another dark fleet.

Conventional cargo vessels are rarely impacted by their operations, except when duped into purchasing fuel from such rogue traders.

The widespread smuggling at sea in Asia has not had significant impact on the merchant fleet as the crime syndicates involved primarily move their contraband on small boats, thereby circumventing conventional ports, although there are occasional concealments discovered in containerized cargo. Illegal movements of migrants and refugees is also done on small boats, so far without the consequences similar to what has been seen in the Mediterranean.

Courtesy:  Seatrade Maritime News

 

United States fails in deterring Houthis

After half a year of conflict, the United States has failed to deter the Houthis from attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea as the Yemeni fighters continue to attack commercial boats and disrupt global trade, posing an increasingly difficult challenge for the far larger American military.  

Repeated US bombardments on Houthis positions have done little to stop the group that has managed to employ advanced weapons like surface-water drones and anti-ship ballistic missiles to fluster US troops. They have kept up the pace of attacks with more than 190 drone and missile launches since the effort began in October 2023. 

While the US has thwarted most Houthi attempts to damage merchant ships, the Yemeni fighters have now sunk or heavily damaged at least four commercial vessels, along with hijacking one. They have also killed four commercial sailors. 

The latest successful attack came on June 23, when the Houthis struck the Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned merchant ship the Trans World Navigator. The last vessel to sink, another Greek-owned ship, the Tutor, was on June 12.  

Bruce Bennett, an adjunct senior international defense researcher at RAND Corporation, said the Houthis are being fed by religious determination and a political motivation that embraces sacrifice, while their insurgent warfare, with weapons scattered across Yemen, pose a big challenge. 

“The US military is designed for regular warfare. It’s designed to take out an adversary who’s out there and targetable,” he said. “It’s really a very hard kind of military threat to get under control.” 

The conflict’s impact on global trade is only growing as it drags on. Earlier this month, the shipping industry sent out a scathing condemnation of the Houthis attacks, calling it “an unacceptable situation” and pushing for stronger international action to ensure the attacks “stop now.” 

While economic costs have largely been absorbed by the shipping industry and direct sellers for now, that could change. 

Adnan Mazarei, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who focuses on the economies of the Middle East and Central Asia, said traffic is down by 50% in the Red Sea corridor. The impact is regional, he added, mainly hitting Egypt, which collects shipping revenues through the Suez Canal, along with reducing port traffic for countries like Israel. 

An extended conflict could begin to impact other parts of the world, especially Europe, as increased shipping costs trickle down to the average consumer. That could significantly worsen if a possible approaching war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is realized, Mazarei added. 

“Unless there is a war in Lebanon, we are in a somewhat stable situation” he said. “Not a good situation, but I think things are somewhat stabilized.” 

The Houthis are launching drones and missiles daily from sites in Yemen, using fishing boats for radar-tracking and relying on advanced weapons shipments and other targeting assistance from Iran. 

The scope of their efforts has also expanded outside of the maritime corridor, with the Houthis in the past few months kidnapping dozens of United Nations relief works, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. 

The US Navy has been constantly on the alert since full engagement began in January to quickly shoot down drones and launch counterattacks on the rebel group’s assets.  

But the Houthis need to slip just one drone or missile through defenses to do damage, while the U.S. cannot miss once or risk a hit, said Cmdr. Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon, a destroyer ship that has taken on the Houthis, who told The Associated Press that people may be unaware of “how deadly serious it is what we’re doing and how under threat the ships continue to be.” 

The USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group, made up of four ships and some 6,000 sailors, this month left the Middle East. The US is sending reinforcements to the region for the Eisenhower group, which has been deployed since October to deter regional escalation and counter the Houthis. 

Washington believes it can damage the rebels enough to stop the effectiveness of their campaign, though officials are now stressing the challenge of accomplishing that goal. 

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the Houthis “miss a whole hell of a lot more than they hit” because of the Navy’s vigilance. 

Kirby explained the U.S. was focused on “taking away their capability to conduct the attacks” but also acknowledged the Houthis remain determined and well-supplied, despite the military working to intercept Iranian skiffs headed to Yemen. 

“They have instilled this sort of religious fervorness and made it some sort of cause célèbre, and when you do that, it becomes even more difficult,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to try to degrade their capabilities, but they’re still getting supplied. They’re still getting resourced by Iran.” 

LNG vessel begins journey through Red Sea

According to Reuters, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel has commenced journey through the Red Sea after crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait this week, a rare occurrence for LNG shipments following attacks by Yemeni Houthis on ships in the area.

The Asya Energy vessel passed by Yemen through the Bab al-Mandab Strait on June 18, shiptracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed, the same week as a second ship believed to have been hit by Yemen's Houthi militants sunk.

"Asya Energy is the first LNG tanker to sail through the Bab el Mandeb strait since January this year when LNG voyages through the Red Sea were suspended amid repeated rocket attacks," said LSEG analyst Olumide Ajayi, adding that data showed that the ship is carrying cargo.

Most LNG tankers have avoided taking this route after Houthis launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region. They describe their attacks, which have since expanded to other busy waterways, as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza.

The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, creating the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, and is connected to the Gulf of Aden by the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Djibouti.

Palau-flagged Asya Energy is heading for Gibraltar, according to Kpler data. It previously called at the Sohar port in Oman, LSEG data showed. It was not immediately clear who is chartering the ship.

Nur Global Shipping manages the ship which is owned by Lule One Services, data on Equasis showed.

Nur Global Shipping did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted on LinkedIn.

Reuters could not find contact information for Lule One Services.

The Asya Energy vessel may soon become the first vessel to sail through the Red Sea passage since January 12, 2024 after waiting around the coast of Oman since mid-January, said Ana Subasic, natural gas and LNG analyst at data and analytics firm Kpler.

"At present, AIS (automatic identification system) signal feed to our platform shows the ballast vessel has set a course towards the Gibraltar checkpoint - although I would take this with a grain of salt, it is too early to be making an accurate prediction," she said.

"We are keeping a very close eye on it and waiting for more ad-hoc raw signals or market sources to feed in."

Leading industry groups have called for urgent action to be taken in the Red Sea to stop attacks on merchant shipping by Houthis.

The UK-owned Rubymar was the first ship sunk by the Houthis. It went down on March 02, about two weeks after being struck by missiles.

 

Yemen targets US aircraft carrier

Yemen's military spokesman says the country's armed forces have targeted US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea in response to deadly overnight attacks by the United State and its allies on the country.

“The missile force and the naval force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a joint military operation targeting the US aircraft carrier ‘Eisenhower’ in the Red Sea,” said Yahya Saree in a televised statement. 

“The operation was carried out with a number of winged and ballistic missiles, the hit was accurate and direct, thanks to Allah,” he added.

Saree said this was a response to aerial strikes by the US and Britain on several targets across the Arab country, which he said targeted civilians in a “blatant violation of all international laws and a full-fledged war crime." 

The US and British warplanes attacked the Yemeni capital Sana’a as well as the governorates of Hodeidah and Taiz.

Yemeni officials say the attacks on Hodeidah targeted the Radio building and the Coast Guard facility and several commercial ships, killing at least 16 people and injuring 41 others.

Call for ending attacks on ships in Red Sea

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities against ships and seafarers navigating through the strategic Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The call comes in response to increasing maritime threats in these crucial waterways.

The IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopted a resolution in London condemning these acts as "illegal and unjustifiable," highlighting their direct threat to the freedom of navigation and the substantial disruptions they cause to regional and global trade.

This resolution marks the first such formal stance by the IMO member states since the seizure of the MV Galaxy Leader cargo ship by the Yemeni Houthi group in November in the Red Sea.

"Since then, around 50 dangerous and destabilizing maritime attacks have occurred, resulting in the loss of several seafarers' lives, while the 25 crew members of the Galaxy Leader remain hostages," the agency reported, calling for their "immediate and unconditional release."

The resolution criticized the Houthis' actions for endangering lives, impeding vital humanitarian aid deliveries, increasing the cost of such aid, and destabilizing the region. It also emphasized the importance of resolving the crisis through peaceful dialogue and diplomacy.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez appealed to governments and relevant organizations to assist affected seafarers and to intensify efforts to resolve the crisis. He highlighted the Red Sea's significance as one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, especially for oil and fuel shipments.

Calm in Red Sea linked to ceasefire in Gaza

Iranian ambassador to Beijing, Mohsen Bakhtiar, has asserted that clashes in the Red Sea are a direct result of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, noting that situation in the strategic waterway will only become stable once the regime ceases its crimes against Palestinians.

The diplomat emphasized that if the United States and its allies genuinely seek peace, security, and stability in the region, they must prioritize an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Bakhtiar made the remarks during an interview with Chinese Phoenix TV. He highlighted Iran's efforts from the outset of the conflict to halt the Israeli onslaught. However, he accused the Zionist regime and its supporters of obstructing these efforts and facilitating the ongoing genocide.

Bakhtiar argued that the US vetoing of draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza has led to the escalation of tensions in the region, particularly in the Red Sea.

He condemned Israel's indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent civilians, including attacks on mosques, churches, and hospitals.

Yemen’s armed forces began targeting Israeli ships and Israel-bound vessels passing through the Red Sea shortly after the regime began its latest round of attacks against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Sana’a has said that it would stop the attacks once Israel ends the devastating war in Gaza.

The Arab country also began targeting American and British ships after London and Washington started to directly attack Yemeni soil in support of Israel instead of turning the screw on Zionists.  

The Iranian envoy to China also addressed Israel's April 01, 2024 attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus. He criticized Western states for refusing to condemn the barbaric act.

“European states and G7 leaders failed to condemn this heinous act while they pretend to be champions of human rights and international law,” he said. 

On a positive note, Bakhtiar emphasized the deep and longstanding ties between Iran and China. He said centuries of amicable relations between the two countries and their people can help Tehran and Beijing further elevate cooperation and collaboration in different areas. 

 

MEI Outlines Expanded US Role to Counter Houthi Red Sea Strikes

The Middle East Institute’s (MEI) Defense and Security Program published a memorandum, addressed to US President Joseph R. Biden, recommending an expanded role for the United States in countering the threat posed to global shipping by the targeting of vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi militia. 

The memo, “A Strategy for Countering the Houthi Threat at Sea,” comes in response to the over 30 strikes conducted by Yemen’s Houthi militia on cargo and other vessels transiting the Red Sea since mid-November. It is co-authored by five members of MEI’s Defense and Security Program, including program Director Bilal Y. Saab, Vice Admiral (ret.) Kevin Donegan, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Mick Mulroy, Lieutenant General (ret.) Sam Mundy, and General (ret.) Joseph L. Votel.

The authors call for a continuation of retaliatory strikes by the United States and United Kingdom against Houthi leadership and infrastructure, but argue this strategy is insufficient, and proceed to offer several additional recommendations for the US to protect shipping and counter Iran’s malign activities in the region.

“For the first time in four decades, a core US interest in the region on which successive American presidents have based US Middle East policy — freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce — is increasingly at risk,” said Bilal Saab.

“In our memo to President Biden, we propose a strategy to effectively and sustainably counter the Houthi threat at sea.”

Among the recommendations is the establishment of an interagency effort led by US Central Command (CENTCOM) to deny the Houthis the ability to target Red Sea vessels, including through efforts to interdict Iran’s smuggling of arms to the group as well as through continued strikes on Houthi infrastructure and leadership.

The memo calls on the Biden administration to allow the US 5th Fleet Commander to assert “collective self-defense” of US flagged, owned, crewed, or operated vessels, or ships requesting US protection while transiting the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. Additionally, the authors call for increased funding for added unmanned surveillance vessels (USV) to patrol Red Sea waters. 

Though calling for an expanded US role, the recommendations also draw attention to international tools at the United States’ disposal, such as partnerships with European and Arab allies, as well as re-investment in the UN Verification Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) tasked with monitoring and facilitating commercial flows to Yemen.

Houthis claim to have hit US container ship

The Houthi movement in Yemen says it has struck a US merchant ship in the Red Sea in a fresh attack targeting commercial shipping, reports Saudi Gazette. It named the ship as the KOI, which it said was US-operated.

Maritime security firm Ambrey said a vessel operating south of Yemen's port of Aden had reported an explosion on board but it did not name the ship.

Meanwhile, the US has launched new air strikes in Yemen, targeting 10 drones reportedly being set up to launch.

According to Reuters, KOI is a Liberian-flagged container ship operated by UK-based Oceonix Services. The same company's fleet includes the oil tanker Marlin Luanda, which was damaged by a missile on Saturday.

The Houthis regard all Israeli, US and British ships as legitimate targets following Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, and US and British targeting of Houthi missile positions in what the two countries say are efforts to protect commerce.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Wednesday that the movement's armed forces had targeted an American merchant ship named KOI with "several appropriate naval missiles".

The ship, he said, had been heading to "the ports of occupied Palestine", a phrase which is sometimes used to mean Israel.

Yemen, he added, would not hesitate to retaliate against British-American escalation.

US Central Command said the 10 drones being prepared for launch in Yemen had posed a threat to merchant vessels and US warships in the region.

All 10 were destroyed along with a Houthi drone ground control station, it said.

The US added that one of its warships had shot down three Iranian drones and a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden.

US-led attacks on Yemen an exercise in futility

The United States and British operations against Houthi militants threatening ships in the Red Sea are making matters worse, China’s envoy to the European Union warned.

“They can only escalate the tension and it’ll not guarantee or maintain the safe passage of the commercial vessels,” Fu Cong said in an interview with Bloomberg. “It’ll even make the passage more dangerous.”

US Central Command forces conducted military strikes Wednesday against two Houthi anti-ship missiles, the latest in a series of efforts to diminish the group’s ability disrupt trade.

Hundreds of vessel operators that cross the Red Sea to access the Suez Canal as they move cargo between Asia, the US and Europe are avoiding the shortcut and taking the longer southern route around Africa.

It’s a massive diversion that’s delaying delivery of billions of dollars in goods, adding to costs and carbon emissions, and fueling fears of broader economic fallout, according to today’s Bloomberg Big Take. 

As the US and UK naval operations continue, the EU is moving ahead with its own plans to established a naval operation in the Red Sea to protect commercial shipping, but it’s still working out the details.

Fu, who is China’s top envoy in Brussels, said the Houthi attacks are a spillover from the Gaza crisis, where Israel has conducted its own military operations against Hamas militants who attacked, kidnapped and killed Israeli citizens on October 07, 2023.

Fu urged the international community, and the US in particular, to exercise more leverage or pressure on the Israeli authorities to stop the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and in particular the civilians.

“Common sense will tell us that by escalating the tension, you will only aggravate the situation and you cannot resolve the problem with the approach that the US and UK are taking,” Fu said.

Courtesy: Bloomberg

Greek vessel hit by missile in Red Sea

A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned vessel has been hit with a missile in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, maritime security firm Ambrey reports It is thought to be the third incident involving the bulk carrier, believed to be named Zografia, in 24 hours.

Tuesday's incident comes as the US military announced it had seized Iranian-supplied weapons bound for the Houthis during an operation last week. Meanwhile, the US has hit more targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

An official told CBS, the BBC's American partner, that the US conducted further strikes on Houthi positions overnight.

The US and UK launched a wave of airstrikes against dozens of Houthi targets on Januart 11 following attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have vowed to retaliate and on Sunday the US said it had shot down a missile fired towards one of its warships from a Houthi area of Yemen.

Several vessels have been targeted by the movement's fighters since November in protest at Israel's war with Hamas.

The Houthis say they are targeting vessels which are Israeli-owned, flagged or operated, or are heading to Israeli ports.

The Red Sea connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal but several shipping lines have announced they are now diverting round the Cape of Good Hope to reach Europe instead.

The US said on Tuesday that analysis from the weapons it seized from a ship near the Yemen coast suggested the Houthis had been using the same kind of weapons in their Red Sea attacks.

"This is the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023," US Central Command said in a statement.

United States sends private message to Iran

US President Joe Biden said America has delivered a private message to Iran about the Houthis in Yemen after the US carried out a second strike on the group.

"We delivered it privately and we're confident we're well-prepared," he said without giving further details.

The US said its latest strike was a follow on action targeting radar.

Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. However, United States continues to allege that Iran is supplying weapons to Houthis.

It is believed that United States wants to disrupt smooth sailing of ships through Red Sea because about 15% of global seaborne trade passes through it. This includes 8% of global grain, 12% of seaborne oil and 8% of the world's liquefied natural gas.

Joint US-British airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Houthi positions in the early hours of Friday with the support of Western allies including Australia and Canada.

A day later, the US Central Command said it carried out its latest strike on a Houthi radar site in Yemen using Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

A Houthi spokesman told Reuters the strikes had no significant impact on the group's ability to affect shipping.

Most Yemenis live in areas under Houthi control. As well as Sanaa and the north of Yemen, the Houthis control the Red Sea coastline.

The official Western government line is that the ongoing air strikes on Houthi targets are quite separate from the war in Gaza. These are a necessary and proportionate response to the unprovoked and unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, they say.

In Yemen and the wider Arab world these attacks are viewed rather differently.

These assaults are seen as Britain and United States joining in the Gaza war on the side of Israel, since the Houthis have declared their actions to be in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza. One theory even says that the West is doing Netanyahu's bidding.

It is still possible that these airstrikes will have a chilling effect on the Houthis. They will certainly degrade their capacity to attack ships in the short term. But the longer these airstrikes persist, the greater the risk that Britain and the US get sucked into another conflict in Yemen.

It has taken Saudi Arabia more than eight years to extricate itself from Yemen after a US proxy war and Houthis are now more entrenched than ever.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign of air strikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza have killed 23,843 Palestinians so far with thousands more believed dead under rubble. 

United States adamant at stopping ships entering Red Sea

After the latest attacks at Yemen on Saturday, it has become evident that United States and its allies, particularly Britain, are adamant at stopping ships passing through Red Sea. The strikes at Yemen are aimed at opening a new front in the Middle East and take attention away from ongoing genocide in Gaza by Israel.

It is necessary to understand why United States is targeting Yemen. For a long time US has fought a proxy war in Yemen. After the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran and Saudi refusal to join the US-led naval force, United States wants to target Yemen.

It may be recalled that ships had resumed journey through Red Sea, which was not appreciated by United States. Therefore, it raised false flag of attacks on ships by Houthis to create a justification of attacks on Yemen.

Readers can recall the US hoax call of presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to pave way for attack on the country. Even at that time British Prime Minister, Toney Blair was the mouthpiece of US President George Bush.

 According to Associated Press (AP), the US military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk.

The latest strike came after the US Navy on Friday warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.

The warning came as Yemen’s Houthis vowed fierce retaliation, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.

 “We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Biden told reporters during a stop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Iran stations warship in Red Sea as US aircraft carrier leaves

Iran's Alborz warship has passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and entered the Red Sea, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. Iranian warships have been operating in the region to secure shipping lanes since 2009, Tasnim said.

Iranian-backed groups have not reduced their attacks in the Middle East. On the opposite, pro-Iranian media sought to highlight how the attacks are increasing. Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, claimed that there were attacks targeting Al-Asad based in Iraq and Shaddadi in Syria, two places where US forces are located. The US is in Syria and Iraq to help defeat ISIS.

Reports on December 31, 2023 said that the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is heading out of the Mediterranean is also raising eyebrows in Iran and the region. While Gaza fighting appears to be reduced slightly, Iran continues to want to manage the conflict against Israel. Iranian Tasnim ran a long interview about the role of Qasem Soleimani in the region. Although the interview is ostensibly about Soleimani, who was killed in January 2020 by the US, the report examines recent details about the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen targeting ships and Palestinian terror groups targeting Israel.

The article raises questions about presence of US aircraft carriers in the region. There were two carriers in the region, the Eisenhower and Ford.

The US had sent the second carrier after the October 07, 2023 attack to deter Hezbollah and others from escalating attacks.

The Iranian regime's view is that these naval assets have not been able to prevent the Houthis in Yemen from continuing attacks on ships. However, a US helicopter destroyed three small Houthi boats over the weekend, indicating that the Houthis are taking losses.

The story about the US carrier leaving the region was covered in Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, showing that pro-Iran figures in the region are watching this development closely.

Get ready for closure of Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar

The deputy coordinator of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said on Saturday that the United States and its allies might have to halt their activities in several more waterways due to their persisting crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

“Yesterday, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz were a nightmare for them, today the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Red Sea have grounded them, and with the continuation of these crimes, they should soon expect the closure of the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar,” said General Mohammadreza Naghdi.

The US has formed what it calls an international alliance to counter Yemen’s attacks in the Red Sea, which have been targeting Israeli-bound ships in recent weeks in response to the regime’s killing campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Attacks by the popular Ansarullah movement have been recorded against Israeli-linked vessels. This has caused Israel’s Eilat Port to see an 85% drop in activity. 

The high-ranking IRGC official warned that more resistance groups are to be formed in the future if the US and the Israeli regime do not put an end to their massacre of innocent people. 

"Today we all witness the unprecedented awakening of nations. The people in the entire world have been on the streets for nearly 80 days and are shouting for justice. Throughout these days, people file lawsuits and shout against the oppressors," he added.

The latest round of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which began after a successful operation by Palestinian resistance group Hamas on the occupied territories, has killed more than 20,000 civilians in the past 80 days. More than 70% of the dead are comprised of women and children.

Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubbles in the territory as those managing to flee from Israeli bombardments grapple with a lack of food, water, and medicine due to a full siege by the Israeli regime. 

Vessels still heading into Red Sea

According to Seatrade Maritime News, three container ships, one each from MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM, were identified on VesselsValue AIS heading south in the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea, despite the carrier’s saying they had re-routed vessels around the African Cape.

Houthi Group missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels have seen many vessels already diverted, but some ships continue to use the critical Red Sea waterway, which has at its northern extremity the southern entrance to the Suez Canal.

A number of other container ships from Cosco, Wan Hai, MSC, Maersk, and CMA CGM were identified either having already transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait or heading for the mouth of the Red Sea, which leads into the Gulf of Aden and into the Indian Ocean.

In total in the Red Sea region AIS identifies around 80-90 container vessels having already transited, or about to transit the Red Sea in the near future.

Most of the top ten container carriers have made statements saying that their vessels would avoid the Red Sea/Suez waterways until the security situation was alleviated.

Houthi Group missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels have seen many vessels already diverted, but some ships continue to use the critical Red Sea waterway, which has at its northern extremity the southern entrance to the Suez Canal.

A Maersk spokesman pointed to its statement, when asked about the prudence of sailing via Suez. The statement said, “Having monitored developments closely and retrieved all available intelligence, Maersk has decided that all vessels previously paused and due to sail through the region will now be re-routed around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope for safety reasons.”

Maersk also pointed out that some of its vessels operate under the Maersk Line Limited banner which operates for the US Government and is not part of Maersk Line’s overall offering.

Other carriers contacted by Seatrade Maritime News, including CMA CGM and MSC did not respond.

Meanwhile, the international maritime task force of around 10 countries called Operation Prosperity Guardian, which includes naval forces from Italy, Spain, the UK and the US among others was today joined by Greece which has sent a frigate to bolster the naval coalition.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement today: "The frigate will participate in the multinational operation 'Prosperity Guardian', for the protection of merchant ships, the lives of seafarers, and the global economy,".

In addition, the International Union of Marine Insurers also made a statement on the 19 December condemning the attacks on shipping: “Provision of hull and cargo insurance has become increasingly challenging due to the heightened risk. As insurers, we are continuously assessing the situation to ensure adequate coverage and support for our clients, while also advocating for enhanced safety measures.”