U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday will convene a meeting of fellow defense ministers to address the growing number of attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on merchant ships passing through a key Red Sea strait, on a day when yet another major shipping line said it was halting shipments through the passage in the face of continued attacks.
The announcement was made Monday during a joint press conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Houthi attacks in support of the Palestinians have proven an unwelcome distraction as the Israeli campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza intensifies.
“These attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law,” Mr. Austin said. “We’re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat.”
Earlier on Monday, a Houthi spokesman announced the rebel force, which controls much of the country’s north, had launched a “military operation” against two merchant vessels operating in the Red Sea — the oil tanker Swan Atlantic and the MSC Clara, a container ship. Houthi leaders claim the ships were linked to Israel, which they refer to as the “Zionist entity.”
“The operation was launched owing to the ship’s crew’s refusal to respond to a call directed by Yemeni naval forces,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare’e wrote on social media after the attack. “The Yemeni armed forces reassure all ships heading to all ports across the world, except for Israel ports, would be safe and must keep the identifying devices open.”
Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels have conducted a rash of drone and missile attacks on merchant ships entering the Red Sea in a bid to pressure Israel in its ongoing war against the Hamas terror group.
The maritime threats have prompted several companies to suspend operations in the Red Sea until further notice. On Monday, the oil and gas company BP was the latest to join the growing list, which also includes international shipping giants like A.P. Moeller-Maersk and the Evergreen Marine Corporation.
“In our trading and shipping business, as in all BP businesses, the safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP’s priority,” the company said in a statement to The Washington Times.”In light of the deteriorating security situation for shopping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea.”
Oil and natural gas prices rose on global markets Monday partly over market nervousness over the instability in the Red Sea. An estimated 10% of the world’s trade passes through the narrow waterway that separates Yemen from East Africa and leads north to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, The Associated Press reported.
The threat to shipping in the Red Sea was not only a U.S. concern. It is an international problem and requires an international response, Mr. Austin said Monday.
“We’re going to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to ensure freedom of navigation in the area,” he said. “The straits are pretty important. A large amount of international commerce flows through there on a daily basis.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.