The Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned and -operated container ship, sent out two distress calls while transiting the Southern Red Sea. In the first call that came on Saturday evening, the vessel declared that it was struck by a missile. The container ship reported that it was still seaworthy and there were no injuries to those onboard.
While responding to the distress call, two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the US ships.The USS Gravely and USS Laboon shot down the missiles before they hit their targets.
A second distress call came from Hangzhou on Sunday, stating that they were “under attack by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats”. The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew-served and small arms weapons at the container ship, approaching to within 20 meters of the vessel. The Houthi terrorists attempted to board the vessel. A security team on Hangzhou returned fire.
Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely responded to the distress call and in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms. The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing ten terrorists. The fourth boat fled the area. There was no damage to U.S. personnel or equipment.
Al Jazeera reported on the incident quoting, the Houthi terrorist group as saying that the boats were performing tasks aimed at “establishing security and stability and protecting maritime navigation”.
In addition, they said the boats were “performing their humanitarian and moral duty… to prevent Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from passing through the Red Sea”.
This is the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since October 19. US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told The Associated Press news agency, adding that the US is “clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue”.
The Houthis have stated that the attacks are in support of Hamas in Gaza. The attacks endanger shipping routes to the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 30% of global container trade passes through the Suez Canal. About a fifth of the volume of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the Strait daily.
According to a New York Times report, Pentagon officials have come up with detailed plans to strike missile and drone bases in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen but the Biden administration is hesitant to use force against the terrorist group due to concerns that it would contribute to a wider regional conflict, which the White House has been keen to avoid.
The U.S. Defense Department is concerned that not responding to attacks from Iranian terrorist proxies reduces deterrence and puts military personnel and assets at greater risk, according to the report. The report also claimed that some experts believe that attacking the Iranian proxy could somehow benefit Iran.
“The bigger issue is that the U.S. since early October has also been accepting as normal persistent Houthi missile and drone attacks” in the Red Sea, Vice Adm. (ret.) Kevin Donegan, a former commander of the Fifth Fleet, told the Times.
“Not responding when U.S. forces are attacked in any fashion risks the lives of U.S. sailors and marines if a missile were to make it past U.S. defenses,’’ he said. “It also sets a new precedent that attacking a U.S. ship carries low risk of retaliation and as we have seen invites more attacks from the Houthis.”
Ten days ago, the US initiated Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational naval task force, to protect Red Sea shipping. Since the operation started, the ships have shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles.
The US announced last week that it will be pulling the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group from the Mediterranean that had been sent with the expressed mission of preventing a regional escalation of the Israeli war on Hamas.
