Houthis attack ship 600km off Yemen in Arabian Sea

The first confirmed attack 600 km away from Yemen will add to concerns about the Iran-backed group’s strike capabilities far from its shores.

The Houthis have attacked a ship in the far Arabian Sea as well the Red Sea. Picture: Supplied

Yemen’s rebel Houthis have launched their most far-ranging attack on commercial shipping to date, with a strike on a Portuguese owned container ship in the far Arabian Sea.

The Joint Maritime Information Centre, which operates as part of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces in the Mideast confirmed the attack on the MSC Orion 600 km off the coast of Yemen, according to Israeli media.

بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن عملية استهداف مدمرتين أمريكيتين وعملية استهداف سفينة (CYCLADES) في البحر الأحمر وسفينةَ ( MSC ORION ) في المحيطِ الهندي التابعتان للكيان الصهيوني بتأريخ 29-4-2024مpic.twitter.com/3ExGQePeSG

— أمين حيان Ameen Hayyan (@ameenhayan) April 29, 2024

The Houthis claimed the attack on Monday, as well as an attempted strike on three ships in the Red Sea. Although the Iran-backed Houthis have previously claimed attacks in the Indian Ocean, this is the first such attack to be confirmed, adding to concerns about the group’s capabilities in long distance attacks.

The group doesn’t have access to long distance drones, but Iran has maintained a presence in the Red Sea for years, with at least one ship suspected of providing intelligence for attacks on other vessels, and serving as a forward operating base for its commandos.

In February, Iran released a video warning against attacks on the MV Behshad, which was described in the video as “floating armoury,” involved in missions to “counteract piracy in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”

The Behshad, which is registered as a cargo ship, provides electronic intelligence to the Houthis, enabling them to spot and target vessels in the Red Sea region, US officials told NBC.

The Times of India reports that Iran also operates military vessels in the Arabian Sea and had seized the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries and its crew just before its drone and missile attack on Israel in mid-April.

The confirmed ability to attack vessels in the Indian Ocean, will further impact global shipping.

Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge recently told The Australian it was very much in the capacity of the rebel group to broaden their attacks.

“The weapons they’ve already been using. cheap kamikaze drones, cruise missiles and Iranian supplied missiles, they can already expand attacks much further than they have with those,” he said.

“This tells us international maritime force has not been able to not only stop the Houthis but stop them from reaching further.

“The price of all goods carried by seaborne trade would go up and that’s got a whole global economy affect.”

Houthi attacks on container vessels in the Red Sea have already forced shipping companies to divert 6000 nautical miles to the Cape of Good Hope via the Indian Ocean, adding weeks to their journeys, and thousands of dollars to the cost.

About 19,000 ships navigate the Suez Canal every year, making it one of the world’s key routes and the attacks have resulted in widespread disruption to global shipping.

The number of vessels sailing around the southern tip of Africa is up 85 per cent from the first half of December, Bloomberg reports. The rise in voyages around the Cape of Good Hope also coincides with a 70 per cent decline in the number of ships arriving in the Gulf of Aden to transit the Red Sea, Steve Gordon, Managing Director of Clarksons Research told Bloomberg.