Add another UK Ship on Fire in the Red Sea as it Becomes Littered with Disabled Tankers.

One can only speculate why the most powerful nation on earth is allowing the Houthis to have their way in the Red Sea. Yet, we hear nothing about what is going on there, only the constant drum beat over Ukraine. In truth allowing shipping being curtailed could have far more reaching ramifications on the U.S. and Britain.

Perhaps it was because Trump said Houthis were “bad.” As soon a Biden took office, they were “good.” Now no doubt Biden would just like to “forget about it.”

The US-led coalition named Operation Prosperity Guardian has not deterred these attack. If anything, they’ve only escalated

Zero Hedge:

The last several days have witnessed well over half a dozen attacks or attempted attacks by Houthis on foreign vessels and tankers in the Red Sea. For example the US military confirmed Tuesday that two US-owned tankers were struck the day prior. Such attacks are now coming several times a day.

On Thursday the Pentagon said its coalition ships in the Red Sea intercepted six more drones over waters off Yemen. This came after another UK-owned ship was struck, and is reportedly burning and immobile some 70 nautical miles southeast of Aden.

A new United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency alert said the British-owned, Palau-flagged ship was hit by two missiles while en route from Thailand to Egypt.

Increasingly, waters off Yemen are being littered with disabled and sinking tankers, as the saga of the Belize-flagged, British-registered Rubymar has shown. Earlier in the week it was hit by Houthi fire and the crew abandoned ship. 

There are reports that the vessel’s operators are currently trying to tow the ship to Djibouti, and that it remains partially below water, the engine room having suffered severe damage.

BBC wrote of one image widely circulating that it is “said to be from Tuesday and shows a vessel still above water. It is down by the stern, but has not sunk. Although the ship’s name is not visible, all of its characteristics match those of the Rubymar.”

…

According to the latest from the Houthi military spokesman Thursday: “In response to the US-UK aggression, the armed forces of Yemen carried out 3 operations”…

• The launching of a number of ballistic missiles and drones at various targets in Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat), south of occupied Palestine.
• The targeting of a British ship “ISLANDER” in the Gulf of Aden, using anti-ship missiles. The ship was directly hit, leading to a fire on board.
• The targeting of an American destroyer (warship) in the Red Sea using a number of kamikaze drones.

Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM has written in a new note, “If anything, Houthis attacks on cargo ships are intensifying in the Red Sea and around the Gulf of Aden.” The US-led coalition named Operation Prosperity Guardian has not deterred these attack. If anything, they’ve only escalated.

Recent attacks on ships launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia group have threatened one of the world’s most crucial trade routes — the Suez Canal. As several shipping companies divert their vessels, About That producer Lauren Bird explains the economic ramifications of it all.

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