Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthis targeted a ship described as the USS Pinocchio in the Red Sea with missiles, according to a speech by the group’s military spokesperson aired early Tuesday.
According to a public database run by Equasis and the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO), Pinocchio is a Liberian-flagged container ship owned by Om Mar 5, a Singapore-registered company.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saleh said the group would step up military operations during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.
Houthi attacks on the Red Sea disrupt global shipping, forcing companies to reroute long and expensive routes around southern Africa, rather than escalating the Israel-Gaza war and destabilizing the entire Middle East. There are growing concerns about this.
At least 11 people were killed and 14 others were killed while defending commercial ships after airstrikes attributed to the U.S.-British coalition hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen, a spokesman for Yemen’s internationally recognized government said on Monday. He told Reuters he was injured.
At least 17 airstrikes were reported across the country, including on the main port city of Hodeidah and the port of Ras Issa, according to Al-Masira, the main Houthi-run TV news outlet.
The airstrike was the first civilian death and vessel loss since the Iranian-allied Houthis launched attacks on commercial ships in November in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack. It took place a few days later.
The US and UK have launched attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen and redesignated the militia a terrorist group.
Despite retaliation from the U.S.-British coalition and other navies, the Houthis have escalated their campaign to attack commercial shipping in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The Houthis on Wednesday killed three crew members of the Barbadian-flagged, Greek-operated True Confidence in an attack off the port of Aden.
This came days after the sinking of the Rubimar cargo ship, which sank about two weeks after being hit by Houthi missiles on February 18.
Many ships are now making longer, more expensive voyages around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope to avoid the dangerous route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, significantly increasing shipping costs. are doing.
