Houthis claim hypersonic missile plan to extend attacks to vessels in the Indian Ocean

The Houthis are reportedly manufacturing a hypersonic missile as they announce plans to extend their attacks on ships from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, global shipping’s only alternative route.

Hundreds of cargo ships and tankers are being rerouted around the southern tip of Africa to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Picture: AFP.

Yemen’s rebel Houthis claim to have tested a new, hypersonic missile as they announce they will extend their attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Indian Ocean.

Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti reported the claim, citing an unnamed official but provided no further evidence. However the Iran-backed rebel group have been hinting at “surprises” they have planned for US and allied forces countering their attacks in the Red Sea.

The claim came hours before a missile strike damaged a merchant ship in the Red Sea off Yemen on Friday. The crew was not injured and the vessel continued its journey, said the Royal Navy’s United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations after the incident west of the rebel-held port of Hodeida.

A hypersonic missile would allow Houthis to penetrate advanced air defences, according to the Maritime Executive, a global maritime publication, pointing out they are harder to target than ballistic missiles as they have greater manoeuvrability.

RIA Novosti reports that the missile is capable of reaching Mach 8 and is entering the “manufacturing phase.” It said Houthis planned to use the missile on targets in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and in Israel.

The claims come as Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Iran-backed group, announced in a televised address the group would target ships heading for the Cape of Good Hope – the route hundreds of ships have been forced to take to avoid being attacked in the Red Sea.

“Our main battle is to prevent ships linked to the Israeli enemy from passing through not only the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but also the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope. This is a major step and we have begun to implement our operations related to it,” al-Houthi said.

Two Houthi spokesmen – Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e and Mohammed Abdulsalam, made the same claim on X, formerly Twitter, with Abdulsalam claiming: “We have begun to carry out our associated operations across the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Good Hope Road”.

The nearest Indian-Ocean to Cape of Good Hope shipping lane is twice as far from Houthi-held territory in Yemen as their current target area in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

However, the rebel group has the capability to shoot into the Indian Ocean, depending on where they launch from in Yemen, the US Naval Institute’s USNI News reports.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, told USNI News Houthi missiles can travel at least 650km, while their drones can go up to 2000 km.

Houthi attacks on container vessels in the Red Sea have 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.

Last week three people on board a Barbados-flagged ship died after it was struck in a Houthi attack in the first known loss of life since the rebel group began attacking ships in the Red Sea region in late November.

The bulk carrier True Confidence caught fire after being hit early Wednesday local time by a missile as it sailed 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden, forcing the crew to abandon the ship.

And on Thursday, a ship off Yemen reported an explosion, a UK maritime agency said, noting both the vessel and its crew were safe.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, run by the Royal Navy, said the master reported an “explosion at a distance astern of the vessel,” southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden, but the ship was proceeding to its next port of call.

“The vessel has sustained no damage and the crew are reported safe,” it added, without identifying the ship or the flag it was flying.

The Houthis claim they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen since January in response to the rebel attacks, but these have failed to stop the Houthis.

On Wednesday, the rebels fired one anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, without impacting any vessels, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

March 13 Daily Red Sea Update

Between 2:00 a.m. and 4:50 p.m. (Sanaa time) on March 13, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Gulf of Aden. The missile did not impact any vessels and there were no… pic.twitter.com/lsZYseVWCw

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 14, 2024

US military forces then “destroyed four unmanned aerial systems (UAVs) and one surface-to-air missile” in Huthi-controlled parts of Yemen because they “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement early Thursday.

AFP correspondents in the port city of Hodeidah reported hearing loud explosions on Wednesday.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported four strikes near the Hodeidah airport but it was not immediately clear if the airport was hit.

Houthi attacks have sent insurance costs spiralling for vessels plying the key trade route and prompted many shipping firms to take the far longer passage around the southern tip of Africa instead.

Rising fuel needs of ships rerouted from the Red Sea are expected to contribute to higher global oil demand this year, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.

With AFP