Rocket-propelled grenades. Swarms of boats. Arson. Hostage-taking. After a lull in their violence against Western-linked merchant ships in the Red Sea, the Houthis have dramatically announced their return. They have done so with attacks even more brutal than the ones the world has become accustomed to since November 2023. This time, seafarers themselves are being directly targeted, and most of these victims hail from Western countries. This means that might be the perfect time for a non-Western nation to step up and put a stop to the brutality. Could the Houthis’ new tactics represent an opportunity for India?
On July 6, as the Magic Seas was sailing through the Red Sea, its crew discovered that the small sea is anything but magical. While the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier traversed the waters off Hudaydah, a host of small ships carrying heavily armed Houthi rebels suddenly surrounded it, and the rebels began shooting. The security guards employed to fight off such attacks didn’t stand a chance. As most likely intended by the publicity-seeking Houthis, the attack caused the merchant ship to catch fire, and its crew of 22 were forced to abandon ship.
Under the circumstances, the seafarers were lucky: They were rescued by another merchant vessel. Filming themselves, the Houthis boarded the bulk carrier and placed explosives on it, then disembarked and watched as the Magic Seas sank to the bottom of the ocean.
One day after attacking the Magic Seas, the Houthis struck again. “A Merchant vessel has been attacked by multiple rocket propelled grenades from small craft,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on July 7. Houthi militants equipped with five rocket-propelled grenades had fired at the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C as it passed the waters off Hudaydah. Several unmanned boats approached the Eternity C at high speed while the Houthis launched cruise and ballistic missiles at it. The Houthis pursued their attack, hour after hour, and they were merciless. The crew had to abandon ship. Eternity C sank, filmed by the Sanaa-based publicity hounds.
On July 14, the search for missing sailors was called off. Eight Filipino seafarers and two of the guards had been rescued from the water. Seven other Filipino crew members, one Russian crew member, and an Indian security guard were presumed dead. The remaining six crew members, all Filipinos, are being held hostage by the Houthis. Having failed to sign war-risk insurance for the Eternity C before it sailed into the Red Sea, the bulker’s owner also faces losses of tens of millions of dollars.
“The attacks this month have showed new coordination and determination with a deliberate intent to sink vessels,” said Neil Roberts, the secretary of the maritime insurance industry’s Joint War Committee.
Indeed. The militia launched its new tactics just as the Red Sea began to seem a bit calmer. “The Houthis have been smart,” Simon Lockwood, the head of shipowners at the insurance broker Willis, told me. “Just as the threat was seemingly going away and major shipping companies were debating a return to Red Sea transits, this change of tactics has caused a halt.”
It certainly has. Most prudent Western-linked shipowners had been avoiding the Red Sea, instead rerouting their ships around the much longer Cape of Good Hope. Now they’ll definitely stick with the Cape route.
“The Houthi net includes any company whose vessels have called to Israel, so that’s a clear warning and will likely deter any who were considering returning to Suez,” Roberts explained. “There are some flags that are not in the Houthis’ sights. And a few other ships are taking their chances.”
Discounting any firing mishaps by the Houthis, Russian and Chinese ships can count on safe passage. But for most others, trying to sneak through is a risky bet that can cost more seafarers their lives.
It’s no wonder that crews on ships sailing through the Red Sea have taken to radioing their nationalities to the Houthis in a desperate effort to protect themselves. It’s no wonder, either, that on July 10, the Philippines banned ships crewed by Filipinos from entering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Since the Philippines provides a larger share of seafarers to global shipping than any other nation, that means even more ships will have to divert. Even the most daredevil shipowners will now have to think twice about attempting journeys though the Red Sea.
The United States has tried to stop the Houthis by intercepting missiles and striking Houthi targets on land. So have Britain and a few other European countries that are part of the U.S.-led strike coalition. European navies and the European Union’s Operation Aspides continue to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea, not because European ships benefit from it—most European-flagged ships began diverting to the Cape route long ago—but because it’s the right thing to do.
But that’s not stopping the Houthis. Because they want global attention, they will continue to attack ships—and now, to harm seafarers too. That ought to worry India, the world’s third-largest source of seafarers after the Philippines and Russia. India also happens to have a large navy, one that has recently impressed the world by daringly liberating seafarers held by Somali pirates. India is, of course, also a foreign-policy power in ascendance.
There’s a role for New Delhi in the deadly mess that’s the Red Sea. Most merchant ships sailing today have at least one Indian crew member. The world’s most populous nation hasn’t yet followed the Philippines in banning ships with Indian crew members from entering the Red Sea, but doing so would be a powerful signal.
Alternatively, with its navy of roughly 130 vessels, India could take more forceful action. It could team up with Aspides and deploy some of its ships to the Red Sea. The EU operation, which recently proposed closer counter-piracy collaboration with the Indian Navy, ought to be interested in such teamwork.
If the Indian Navy were to regularly escort ships through the Red Sea—and fight off Houthi attacks—the Houthis would struggle to claim that they’re waging a battle against the West. And since the Indian Navy is already active relatively nearby, off the coast of Somalia, taking action in the Red Sea would be a logical step.
India wouldn’t even need to form an alliance with the EU or any other geopolitical group to do so. During the height of the pirate crisis in the late 2000s, nations from Britain to China teamed to police the waters off Somalia. Their cooperation was not underpinned by any political alliance or joint command—providing a model that could work again today.
Indeed, taking action in the Red Sea would be an opportunity for India to show off its blue-water navy and demonstrate that it can tackle international hot-button issues. In this case, New Delhi would be helping to tackle a crisis that not even the world’s superpower has managed to get under control. Indian Navy escorts alone certainly won’t make the Red Sea safe again, but they can make the Indian Ocean inlet safe enough that seafarers no longer have to fear for their lives. If Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did this, a whole lot of nations, a whole lot of companies, and a whole lot of sailors would be very grateful.