Shipping industry warns any vessel could be a Houthi target

The risk of collateral damage from an attack on merchant shipping means that all vessels passing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden could be struck by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, according to the latest advice to vessels sailing through the region. 

The most recent guidance, published by seven top trade groups says that while most attacks have been on ships with links to the US, UK and Israel, “there is potential for collateral damage from unintended strikes.” It marks a wider scope for risk than its previous advice, which was published in mid-December. 

The Houthis have been attacking merchant ships since the middle of November, a move that has now led to vast chunks of the global fleet avoiding the narrow Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint that joins the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

While they say they have said there are no threats to some ships in the region — notably those from China and Russia — there was a strike last month on an oil tanker carrying Russian fuel for commodity trading giant Trafigura. The attack resulted in a large on-board fire but underscored the continued risk of a wider environmental disaster. 

The guidance also said:

• Vessels have recently been approached by undersea vehicles, although none have been attacked by them
• The Houthis have been able to attack ships as far as 100 nautical miles from the coast of Yemen
• Military forces still consider the chances of attack on merchant shipping to be very high, especially US, UK and Israeli-linked vessels