U.S.-LED TASK FORCE SET UP TO QUELL RED SEA ATTACKS
Multinational security coalition aims to safeguard commercial vessels passing through the crucial maritime route from assault by Houthi rebels
The United States has announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea, with Britain, France, Bahrain and Italy among countries joining the “multinational security initiative”.
“Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea, imperilling a transit route that carries up to 12 per cent of global trade.
The security coalition, Austin said, would operate “with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity”.
It included the US, Bahrain, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, Austin said.
Some of the countries will conduct joint patrols while others will provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Several other countries have also agreed to be involved in the operation but preferred not to be publicly named, a US defence official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss additional details of the new mission that had not been publicly announced.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels previously said they had attacked two “Israeli-linked” vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza, as more companies halted transit through the troubled but vital waterway.
Last month, they seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader, and its 25 international crew.
The attacks on the Norwegianowned Swan Atlantic and another ship identified by the Houthis as the MSC Clara are the latest in a flurry of maritime incidents that are disrupting global trade in an attempt to pressure Israel over its war against Hamas militants.
The Yemeni rebels said they had carried out a “military operation against two ships linked to the Zionist entity” using naval drones.
They vowed to “continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports … from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas” until more food and medicine was allowed into Gaza.
But the Swan Atlantic’s owner, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers, said the ship was carrying biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island.
It said the vessel had “no Israeli link” and was managed by a Singaporean firm, adding that the Indian crew were unharmed and the vessel suffered limited damage.
British oil giant BP became the latest to suspend transit through the Red Sea on Monday, while Taiwanese shipping firm Evergreen said it was suspending its Israeli cargo shipments with immediate effect.
Frontline, one of the world’s largest tanker companies, also said it was re-routing ships and would “only allow new business” that could be routed via South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
That route is far longer and uses more fuel.
The Red Sea attacks have forced insurance companies to significantly increase premiums on ships, making it uneconomical for some to transit through the Suez Canal.
Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company,
France’s CMA CGM, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, Belgium’s Euronav and Denmark’s A.P MollerMaersk – the latter accounting for 15 per cent of global container freight – have all stopped using the Red Sea until further notice.
The attacks had become “a maritime security crisis” with “commercial and economic implications in the region and beyond”, Torbjorn Soltvedt of analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft said.
The latest attack took place on Monday as the Pentagon chief visited Israel after a stop in Bahrain, home base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
“In the Red Sea, we’re leading a multinational maritime task force to uphold the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation. Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop,” Austin said at a news conference.
On Saturday, a US destroyer shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea launched from rebelcontrolled areas of Yemen, the US military said.
Britain said one of its destroyers had also brought down a suspected attack drone in the area.
To date the US has not struck back at the Houthis operating in Yemen or targeted any of the militants’ weapons or other sites.
Austin did not answer a question as to why the Pentagon had not conducted a counterstrike.
Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said neutral Oman had launched mediation efforts to safeguard shipping using the waterway.
“Under the sponsorship of our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman, communication and discussion continue with a number of international parties regarding operations in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
Meanwhile, Israeli air force officers defended their actions in war against Hamas.
“All the bombs we use are high-precision bombs,” an officer told reporters during a military-organised visit of the Palmahim airbase on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv.
The Israeli air force has played a key role in the military response to Hamas’ deadly attacks in Israel on October 7.
Shortly after the unprecedented attacks by the Palestinian militants, the Israeli military first responded with a massive campaign of air strikes, later sending ground forces into besieged Gaza.