The Houthis hit two oil tankers in the Red Sea. The danger of attacks on commercial traffic continues
Yemen's Houthis reportedly struck two oil tankers in the Red Sea on Monday, one of them flying the Saudi flag.
According to a Reuters report, citing US military sources , one of the targets hit on Monday was a Panamanian-flagged vessel called the Blue Lagoon I and the other was the Saudi-flagged Amjad.
According to Reuters, the Houthis took responsibility for the attack on the Blue Lagoon I, but made no reference to the Saudi-flagged ship.
According to an AP report , the Blue Lagoon I was traveling to an undisclosed location from the Russian port of Ust Luga, reporting that it was carrying Russian crude oil on board. The Houthis had previously stated that they would not target Russian or Middle Eastern ships, but it appears they were not quite so specific this time.
The tankers, which were close to each other when they were hit, did not suffer any significant damage. Both were able to continue their journey after the attacks. The Saudi-flagged vessel has a capacity of up to 2 million barrels of crude oil, while the Blue Lagoon I can carry up to 1 million barrels.
Here is Amjad continuing on its own path:
The AP cited the Joint Maritime Information Center, a unit created to track Houthi activity in the Red Sea and led by the US Army, as saying the Blue Lagoon I tanker “was targeted due to other ships of its corporate structure that have called in Israel recently.”
“These acts of reckless terrorism by the Houthis continue to destabilize regional and global commerce, as well as put the lives of civilian mariners and maritime ecosystems at risk,” U.S. Central Command said, as quoted by the AP.
The Houthis have been targeting ships passing through the Bab el Mandeb Strait since last November, in reaction to Israeli bombing of Gaza. Initially, the group said it would only target Israeli ships and those flying the flag of Israeli allies, but it has since expanded its campaign.
Probably the Houthis do not have an information service refined enough to be able to know exactly the destinations of the ships and the cargo transported ex ante, or, simply, they don't care…
The attempt by the United States and some European allies to put an end to the attacks has so far not produced any results, nor will it be able to produce them without direct control of Yemeni territory. It must be said that the attack on an oil tanker from Saudi Arabia, a country bordering Yemen and which had been in direct conflict with the Houthis, was an extreme risk.
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The article The Houthis hit two oil tankers in the Red Sea. The danger of attacks on commercial traffic continues to come from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-houthi-colpiscono-due-petroliere-nel-mar-rosso-il-pericolo-degli-attacchi-al-traffico-commerciale-prosegue/ on Tue, 03 Sep 2024 14:29:55 +0000.