The US military carried out a new strike against anti-ship ballistic missiles in Yemen's Houthi-held areas on Tuesday.
The attack targeted four anti-ship missiles that were about to be deployed and posed an immediate threat to merchant ships and U.S. Navy ships, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity. told ABC News.
The attack, first reported by Reuters, was the latest incident in an ongoing tug-of-war in the Red Sea with the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have stepped up attacks on ships in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. .
News of the collision comes amid reports that British oil company Shell has halted shipping via the Red Sea due to fears of further escalation. The Wall Street Journal said:.
The heads of two international banking groups who attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos also said the ongoing crisis is creating severe inflationary pressures and will reverse interest rate cuts, otherwise putting the U.S. economy at risk. We have informally warned that this is a possibility.
Officials say war risk insurance premiums for cargo transiting the Red Sea have already increased.
As the Houthis continue to threaten international shipping in the name of the Palestinian cause, some containers have been stopped completely diverting from the Red Sea-Suez Canal route.
Approximately 12% of the world's shipping depends on the Red Sea for access to the canal.
Also on Tuesday, security companies and two Greek shipping ministries said the Houthis collided with a Maltese-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier as it sailed north in the Red Sea about 76 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Saleh port, a security firm and two Greek shipping ministries said.
The ship, known as Sografia, was attacked by a naval missile and “suffered a direct hit,” the statement said. The group announced on.
“The targeted operation took place after the ship's crew rejected a warning call containing a harsh warning message,” the statement said.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces continues to take all defensive and offensive measures within its legitimate right to defend its beloved Yemen and to affirm its continued substantive solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people. There is,” he added.
One Greek source said the ship was en route from Vietnam to Israel with 24 crew members on board and was empty at the time of the attack.
“There were no injuries, only property damage,'' the official said, noting that the ship is still underway but will likely be diverted for safety inspections.
with post wire
