Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis fired naval missiles at the British ship ‘LYCAVITOS’ in the Gulf of Aden, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech today.
The Yemeni group claims that “appropriate naval missiles” were used against the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier and that the attacks were direct.
The Houthis added that they will continue to apply a “blockade on Israeli shipping in the Red and Arabian Seas until a ceasefire is achieved and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
The vessel is managed by Helikon Shipping Enterprises, which has offices in London, Athens and Dalian, China.
Helikon said in a response that the ship was Greek-owned and that details previously published by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency were “informative”, without providing further details.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis fired naval missiles at the British ship ‘LYCAVITOS’ in the Gulf of Aden, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech today.
The British ship ‘LYCAVITOS’. Yemeni group claims ‘appropriate naval missiles’ were used and attacks were direct
British maritime security firm Ambrey said a bulk carrier suffered minor damage today after being hit by an explosive projectile about 100 nautical miles east of the Yemeni port city of Aden.
The damage was caused by shrapnel that caused a diesel leak, Ambrey said in his advisory note, making clear that the explosion occurred about 100 miles away and did not directly hit the aircraft carrier. The crew members were unharmed, he added.
Separately, the UKMTO agency said today it had received a report of an explosion near a ship about 85 nautical miles east of Aden.
It is not clear if any of the attacks refer to that of ‘LYCAVITOS’.
The attacks came as the United States said today that it had seized a shipment of Iranian weapons destined for Yemen’s rebels in January.
The seizure is part of a broader US effort to counter Houthi attacks on the key sea route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, which have triggered retaliation by US and British forces, including a new wave of American attacks this week.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks against international commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Their targets have been ships with commercial links to the United States, Great Britain or Israel, say transportation and insurance sources.
The attacks have led several companies to suspend Red Sea voyages and opt for a longer and more expensive route around Africa.
Meanwhile, soaring shipping costs caused by attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea could mean Britons could face serious price rises and shortages of important household items such as white goods this summer. sofas, garden furniture and barbecues.
The price of global shipping containers rose more than 300 percent between November 2023 and January as a result of the chaos that has forced many companies to divert to longer and more expensive shipping routes.
New Houthi recruits ride in a vehicle during a parade against the United States and Israel, in Sana’a, Yemen, on February 7.
Buy It Direct Group chief executive Nick Glynne told BBC Radio 4: “The vast majority of our products come from the Far East and we are hugely affected by freight prices.”
He explained that large household items not only now cost more, but are becoming cost-prohibitive to ship simply because they require larger containers.
“This has a significant impact on the end-user price,” Glynne said, warning that there is likely to be a significant shortage of such items.
This comes after supermarket giant Sainsbury’s warned consumers they could struggle to find tea on supermarket shelves due to “nationwide supply issues” linked to the disruption to overseas shipments. Red.
Marco Forgione, director general of the International Trade and Export Institute, told MailOnline that CPI inflation could rise by up to four per cent if the conflict continues or escalates.
Mr Forgione told MailOnline: ‘Consumers will see three impacts lightly: price increases, inflation and the potential for shortages.
‘You could see an increase in the CPI of between three and four percent if things continue like this and there is an escalation.
‘Inflation at the moment will affect products that arrive across the Red Sea, such as wheat, corn, clothing and palm oil.
“When looking at the broader CPI, the basket of goods contains products that are not directly affected, but even those will come under price pressure as global shipping costs rise.”