Greek Ship Targeted by Missiles off Yemen

Another Greek-owned ship was targeted by missiles off the coast of Yemen on Monday, British maritime security firm Ambrey reported.

The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier was targeted by missiles in two separate incidents within two minutes while transiting through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, it said.

The bulker was reportedly hit and sustained physical damage on the starboard side, Ambrey added.

Ambrey had first reported that the carrier had sighted a projectile near the vessel 23 nautical miles northeast of Djibouti’s Khor Angar and 40 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mokha.

The name of the ship and the nationalities of the crew are not yet known.

Greek ships targeted off Yemen

Last week an explosion was reported near a Greek-owned merchant vessel off the coast of the port city of Aden, Yemen.

The vessel, the Star Nasia, was traveling from the US to India. The explosion is understood to have occurred 50 meters off the vessel’s starboard side. The vessel and crew were safe.

Last month a video of the Houthi strike on a Greek ship in the Red Sea was released by private Skai TV on Friday evening.

The footage from a bridge camera shows the moment a missile hits the dry bulk vessel, Zografia, which sustained minor damage. There were no injuries among the crew.

The dangers for shipping in the Red Sea region have increased dramatically, as Iranian-backed Houthi fighters have targeted commercial shipping with drone and missile attacks, as well as more brazen assaults by boat and helicopter.

The Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen, have declared their backing for Hamas in its war with Israel, and say they are targeting commercial vessels with links to Israel.

Much of the world’s oil and natural gas originates from the region, and the Red Sea is used to transport roughly fifteen percent of the world’s shipping traffic.

Trade flows disrupted

With Houthis attacking dozens of ships since the war in Gaza erupted, trade flows have been hit at a time when supply strains and low demand are putting pressure on prices globally.

There has been an “almost wholesale exodus” of larger container ships from the Red Sea and the adjoining Suez Canal, Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of shipping publication Lloyds List, told CNN.

Those ships, which ferry everything from trainers to mobile phones from manufacturers in Asia to customers in Europe, have been taking longer routes to avoid the area.

That exodus is a big deal: The Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, accounts for 10-15 percent of world trade, which includes oil exports, and for 30 percent of global container shipping volumes.

But the overall impact on shipping costs and supply chains is far less severe than at the height of the pandemic, analysts tell CNN.

Still, the current crisis has left its mark, prompting Tesla to pause some of its production because of delays in the delivery of car parts to Germany, and Swedish furniture giant Ikea to warn of possible product shortages.