As the news cycle on Tuesday centered on Iran's launch of 180 ballistic missiles, including new hypersonic weapons, tensions also flared up in the Red Sea when Iran-backed Houthis attacked two commercial vessels—one with an explosive-laden drone and the other with a missile.
Houston-based data intelligence firm SynMax, which specializes in maritime and energy intelligence, wrote on X early Tuesday morning, "Two ships targeted by Houthis in the RedSea yesterday—Panama-flagged CORDELIA MOON and Liberian-flagged MINOAN COURAGE—the first such attacks since September."
SynMax noted, "Both crews remain safe."
AP News provided additional color on the attacks:
The first attack took place some 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the port city of Hodeida and targeted the Panama-flagged oil tanker Cordelia Moon, the multinational Joint Maritime Information Center said. A captain on a ship saw four "splashes" near the vessel, the center overseen by the U.S. Navy said. That likely would have been missiles launched at the vessel that missed.
The drone boat later damaged the Cordelia Moon, which sustained a puncture to one of its ballast tanks in the attack. Those tanks control a ship's buoyancy. Houthi strikes in the past have targeted ships at their waterline to disable the vessels.
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Another attack with a missile targeted a separate ship also heading north to the Suez Canal with armed security on board, Ambrey said. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center later identified it as the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Courage.
Since October 2023, Houthi rebels have launched over 80 attacks on commercial ships in the critical maritime chokepoint in the southern Red Sea, sinking two ships and killing four sailors.
The chaos has sparked global supply chain snarls for the shipping industry as commercial vessels are rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope.
Even more concerning is the Biden-Harris administration's failure of 'Operation Prosperity Guardian' to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security in the critical maritime chokepoint.
The world is on fire because the Biden-Harris team is weak. The world knows it.
Events this week in the Middle East only suggest the conflict is broadening. Read more about the potential IDF response.
