American and British ships shoot down 21 drones in the Red Sea. The tension remains very high
US and British forces in the Red Sea shot down 21 drones fired at ships in the Red Sea on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing US Central Command.
It was the 26th attack by Yemen's Houthis against ships in the Red Sea since November 19, the Central Command said. US and British forces shot down 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles.
Attacks on cargo ships or oil tankers near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory have become daily in recent weeks, as the Iran-aligned group has stepped up attacks following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October.
The Houthis demand that Israel stop bombing Gaza and have begun their attacks by targeting ships headed or owned by Israel. They recently declared that ships reporting no ties to Israel will be allowed to circulate freely in the Red Sea.
However, large container shippers may decide not to risk it and continue to divert traffic to the Cape of Good Hope despite the additional costs, given that it is not just Israel-bound or bound vessels that have been targeted by attacks.
The intensification of the US and UK military presence in the Red Sea came in response to the attacks: the US sought to lead a broad coalition of allies, but most of them refused to serve under the command of the United States and said he would contribute as he saw fit.
The Houthis, meanwhile, have said they will also begin targeting US naval vessels if the US military attacks the Yemeni group directly.
Amid the continuing attacks, Goldman Sachs warned last week that oil prices could rise substantially. In an interview with CNBC, the bank's head of oil research, Daan Struyven, said a prolonged disruption to oil transportation in the Red Sea could raise benchmark prices by three to four dollars.
For now, however, oil tankers have continued to move freely in the Red Sea, Reuters reported earlier this week. However, some traders such as BP and Equinor have chosen to reroute their tankers around Africa. Furthermore, to complicate matters, the Iranian destroyer Alborz is present in the Red Sea, and this poses a threat to the US fleet.
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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/le-navi-americane-e-inglesi-abbattono-21-droni-nel-mar-rosso-la-tensione-resta-altissima/ on Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:38:34 +0000.