Houthis Target Ships in the Red Sea and Mediterranean

The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have attacked two ships in the Red Sea, including an oil tanker, and one vessel in the Mediterranean, the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.  

The Houthis used on Monday “a number of drone boats”, UAVs, and ballistic missiles to target the MT Bentley in the Red Sea, he added in a post on X. 

MT Bentley I is a Panama-flagged, Israel-owned, Monaco-operated tanker vessel in the Red Sea carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. No damage or injuries have been reported at this time, the Command said.

In another attack, the Houthis attacked MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged, Marshall Islands-owned, Greek-operated crude oil tanker with a USV in the Red Sea. The USV caused damage, but MT Chios Lion has not requested assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis also targeted the vessel Olvia in the Mediterranean, their military spokesman said as the rebel group has stepped up attacks in the Red Sea. 

The Houthis said the latest attacks were in response to the Israeli air strike on the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. 

In May, the Houthis expanded their reach and hit six vessels in three seas, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to this, the Houthis had not managed to reach as far as the Mediterranean, which is a rather troubling development for the West. 

The attacks came only days after a Houthi spokesman warned of a new campaign targeting vessels heading to Israel from the Mediterranean.

The Houthis also threatened to broaden attacks further in the Indian Ocean. This coincided with a meeting between Pentagon officials and their Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) counterparts to drum up more support for U.S.-led efforts to cripple the Houthi campaign of attacking commercial vessels.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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