Red Sea News

The Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht was ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, a day after being hit by an explosive device, its operator and the EU maritime mission Aspides said.Yemen's Houthi militants claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the attack, saying it was carried out by a cruise missile.The strike injured two sailors and forced a helicopter evacuation of the ship's 19 crew members, according to the EU maritime mission Aspides and the vessel's operator.Amsterdam…

The Dutch-flagged general cargo ship Minervagracht is on fire and drifting in the Gulf of Aden after an attack with an explosive device required the helicopter rescue of its 19 crew, the EU maritime mission Aspides and the vessel's operator said on Monday.It was not immediately clear whether the attack that injured two sailors was carried out by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who since 2023 have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with…

People in a wooden boat opened fire on a Comoros-flagged livestock carrier in the Red Sea near Yemen on Thursday, and the vessel was detained by the Yemeni Coast Guard, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).A maritime security official in the Yemeni government told Reuters the vessel was released after being held on suspicion, with naval forces concerned because its AIS tracking system was turned off and it was sailing north from the Horn of Africa.British security firm Ambrey said the vessel…

Several Greek-managed tankers transporting Russian oil to Asia are increasingly avoiding the Red Sea, opting instead for the longer route around Africa, due to escalating security threats from Houthi attacks, three oil traders and LSEG shipping data show.The rerouting follows a deadly drone and speedboat assault earlier this month on a Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier off Yemen, which killed four seafarers. The Iran-backed Houthi group also sank another vessel in July…

Ten mariners rescued after Houthi militants sank a Greek ship last week have arrived in Saudi Arabia, maritime security sources said on Monday, after rescuers ended their search for the remaining crew.The rescue mission began on Wednesday when the Iran-aligned group sank the Liberia-flagged Eternity C cargo ship, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days.Eight crew members and two security guards were rescued.

Commercial ships still sailing through the Red Sea are broadcasting messages about their nationality and even religion on their public tracking systems to avoid being targeted by Yemen's Houthis after deadly attacks this week by the militia.The Red Sea is a critical waterway for oil and commodities but traffic has dropped sharply since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-aligned group said was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.The…

Yemeni Houthi militia leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday (July 10) that no company would be permitted to transport goods related to Israel through designated areas at sea.“It is not permissible for any company transporting goods for the Israeli enemy through the declared area of operations. Our position in this regard is firm," said al-Houthi in his weekly televised speech.The insurance cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea has more than doubled in recent days after Yemen's Houthis attacked and sank two ships…

The insurance cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea has more than doubled in recent days after Yemen's Houthis attacked and sank two ships, killing at least four seafarers after months of calm, industry sources said on Thursday.The Red Sea is a critical waterway for oil and commodities but traffic has dropped sharply since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-aligned group said was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.War risk premiums have risen to around 0.7% of the value of a ship…

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea after Houthi militants attacked and sank a second ship this week, while the fate of another 15 was unknown after the Iran-aligned group said they held some of the seafarers.The Houthis claimed responsibility for the assault that maritime officials say killed four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C before the rest abandoned the cargo ship. Eternity C went down Wednesday morning after attacks on two previous days, sources…

In recent days, two ships have now been attacked in the Red Sea. One has sunk and the other has suffered extensive damage. These vessels have been attacked with callous disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers and as an inevitable but terrible consequence, seafarers have been killed.We join with the IMO Secretary General in his denunciation of the attacks and we call on all stakeholders to uphold the safety and security of innocent civilian seafarers as they pass through this vital waterway, carrying the food, goods and energy the world’s economy relies upon.

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea on Wednesday and 15 were still missing from the second of two ships sunk in recent days in attacks claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia after months of calm.Four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C cargo ship were killed before the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel, which sank on Wednesday morning after being attacked on Monday and Tuesday, sources at security companies involved in a rescue operation said.The six seafarers who were rescued had spent more than 24 hours in the water…

Four seafarers on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C were killed in a drone and speedboat attack off Yemen, an official with knowledge of the issue said on Tuesday, the second incident in a day after months of calm.The Red Sea, which passes Yemen's coast, has long been a critical waterway for the world's oil and commodities but traffic has dropped since the Iran-aligned Houthi militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.The deaths on the Eternity C…

Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering commercial activity in sea lanes around the Gulf and the Red Sea at the UN's shipping agency on Wednesday, as their military conflict escalated.Iran's delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization's security committee that Israel had in recent days extended its "unlawful attacks" to include petrochemical and gas infrastructure in Asalouyeh along Iran's Gulf coast."These actions directly endanger international maritime security and the global energy supply chain…

Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission.The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the U.S. and the rebel group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.But shipping traffic…

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Monday on three vessels and their owners for delivering oil and gas products to Yemen's Houthis, as Washington piled pressure on the Iran-backed rebels over their attacks on Red Sea shipping.The sanctions targeted Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Co and Great Success Shipping Co, and Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Co and the cargo vessels they used to deliver oil and gas products to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa, the U.S.

Six foreigners were killed on Thursday when a tourist submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, the local governor's office told Reuters, without confirming the nationalities of the victims.The Russian consulate in Hurghada said the submarine, named "SINDBAD", had 45 Russian tourists on board in addition to crew members.The consulate said four people had died, but did not specify if they were Russian."According to initial data, most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada," the consulate said.The fate of several tourists was still be

The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea is expected to remain firm after the United States carried out further airstrikes on Yemen on Monday, adding to fears of new attacks on ships by the Iran-aligned Houthis targeted by Washington, industry sources said.Responding to the Houthi movement's threats to international shipping, the U.S. launched airstrikes on Saturday. On Monday, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and Al Jawf governorate north of the capital Sanaa were targeted, the Houthis' Al Masirah TV said.In January, the Houthis said they would halt attacks on U.S.

Yemen's Houthis will not "dial down" their action against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea in response to U.S. military pressure or appeals from the group's allies such as Iran, the Yemeni militant group's foreign minister said.Jamal Amer spoke to Reuters late on Monday after the U.S. launched a wave of strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said last week they were resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.Two senior Iranian…

Global marine fuel sales jumped in 2024 after attacks by Yemen's Houthis starting in late 2023 prompted most shipping companies to divert vessels around southern Africa rather than through the Red Sea, according to data and analysts.Singapore bunker volumes logged fresh highs of 54.92 million metric tons in 2024, or about 955,000 barrels per day (bpd), while sales at United Arab Emirates' Fujairah posted the first annual uptick after a downtrend for several years.Rotterdam marine fuel sales rose 12% in the first quarter of 2024 to 2.16 million tons, or about 38,000 bpd from the previous three

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized their Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.It said the crew were handed to Oman "in coordination" with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza's war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas."The release of the Galaxy Leader crew comes within the framework of our solidarity with Gaza and in support of the ceasefire agreement…

Yemen's Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships after the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, the Yemen-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), said.The HOCC, which liaises between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, also said in an email dated Jan. 19 that if the U.S., Britain or Israel resumed strikes on Yemen, then attacks on vessels affiliated with these countries would resume.(Reuters - Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Editing by Gareth Jones)

The crew of Panama-flagged cargo ship MV ISA STAR have been rescued in the Red Sea after sending a distress signal, the EU's Aspides naval mission said."All crew members aboard the MV ISA STAR have been rescued and will be transported to Djibouti, the nearest safe port of call," Aspides said in a statement posted on Facebook.The vessel had reported flooding in the engine room and the master requested assistance, it said, as its crew of 20 were forced to abandon it.One maritime…

A rescue operation is under way for the crew of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel that was abandoned off the port of Hodeidah in the Red Sea, three maritime security sources said on Thursday.The cause of the incident remained unclear and the number of crew on board was not known.The crew were forced to abandon the vessel, one of the sources told Reuters, adding that the ship experienced engine problems.