Suspected Houthi Boat Drone “Collided” With Merchant Vessel In Southern Red Sea 

Let’s take a break from the chaos in American politics and gravitate towards the Middle East. 

Iran-backed Houthis are still lobbing missiles, kamikaze drones, and boat drones at Western-linked commercial vessels sailing through the critical maritime chokepoint in the Southern Red Sea. 

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported a vessel was attacked by a boat drone about 97 nautical miles northwest of Al Hudaydah, Yemen.

“The Master of a merchant vessel reports being attacked by 3 small craft, blue and white in color, 2 of the small craft had 3 persons onboard, the third small craft is reported to be unmanned,” UKMTO wrote in the advisory note.

UKMTO said, “The reported unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice and the 2 manned small craft fired at the vessel. The vessel conducted self-protection measures, after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack. The vessel and crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”

An updated advisory by UKMTO said the attack by the boat drone “caused damage and light smoke” on the port side of the vessel. 

“Merchant shipping in the area is advised to halt crew deck movements and to stay well clear of vessels withholding” identification signals, British maritime security firm Ambrey said, adding the incident is consistent with previous Houthi attacks in the Southern Red Sea. 

The Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war. This comes as the Biden administration’s efforts to ensure freedom of navigation via Operation Prosperity Guardian continue to fail on the critical maritime chokepoint. 

In recent weeks, the Houthis showcased their domestic suicide boat drone technology.

Finally Yemeni Houthis showcase its homemade Unmanned Surface Vessel (drone boat) named Toofan 1.

Houthis recently launched that boat to sunk the MV Tutor container ship in Red sea. pic.twitter.com/cBPfUdKWEs

— Current Report (@Currentreport1) June 21, 2024

Which has been deployed in the Red Sea (read: here)… 

Houthis of Yemen has released the footage of its ‘drone explosive boat’ hitting TRANSWORLD NAVIGATOR ship off the coast of Yemen in Red Sea. The Tufan drone can carry a warhead of 1000-1500kg, making it severely dangerous for the target ship. pic.twitter.com/v6y9KOboZH

— Tactical Tribune (@TacticalTribun) June 30, 2024

There is a continued ongoing threat that spillover risks from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are mounting, one where the fight could result in Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.