German container ship comes under fire in the Red Sea

German container ship comes under fire in the Red Sea

The British Maritime Transportation Office (UKMTO) also confirmed an attack. It occurred - like several previous attacks by Houthi rebels - near the Bab al-Mandeb strait between Yemen and the African country of Djibouti.

According to the maritime security company Ambrey, a fire broke out on the ship after the attack north of the port city of Mocha. A container had fallen into the sea and the damage had been reported by radio.

The Hapag-Lloyd spokesman did not confirm the information about the container to AFP, nor was there any information about further damage. The spokesman said that the ship was on its way from the Greek port of Piraeus to Singapore. There were no casualties in the attack and the ship was now continuing towards its destination. The container ship had a capacity of 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), an internationally standardized unit of measurement for containers.

According to the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, the container ship sailing under the Liberian flag is the 370-metre-long "Al-Jasrah", which was completed in 2016.

Sullivan explained that the attacks by the Houthis threatened the freedom of navigation that is central to the transportation of oil and goods. He blamed Iran for the attacks. "The Houthis pulled the trigger, they get the weapon from Iran," said Sullivan during a visit to Tel Aviv.

Since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas, the Houthi militia in Yemen has fired drones and missiles at Israel several times and attacked ships in the Red Sea. On Thursday, the Shiite Islamists declared that they had carried out a "military operation" against another container ship, the "Maersk Gibraltar". The Iran-backed rebels see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed "Axis of Resistance" directed against Israel. Hapag-Lloyd has offices in the Israeli ports of Ashdod, Tel Aviv and Haifa.

US Security Advisor Sullivan, meanwhile, reiterated his country's desire to strengthen security measures for shipping in the region. Washington is "working with the international community, with partners in the region and around the world to address this threat", he told journalists. British, French and US ships are currently patrolling the region and have already intercepted several missiles.

The Bab al-Mandeb strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden - and therefore with the Indian Ocean. Around 40 percent of the world's international goods shipments pass through the region. According to reports, insurance costs have skyrocketed as a result of the attacks, with oil tankers sometimes incurring surcharges of tens of thousands of dollars.

While warships transiting the Red Sea are well equipped and can fend off attacks, merchant ships do not have the same protection. Crews that come under fire from heavy weapons usually leave the bridge and steer their ships by remote control from an armored shelter.

Read also:

• This will change in December
• German activists speak out in Dubai on suffering in Israel and the Gaza Strip
• Despite UN vote: fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues
• Nuclear fusion - hype or solution to energy problems?

1. The German container ship, sailing under the Liberian flag, was reported to have come under fire in the Red Sea, a region where around 40% of the world's international goods shipments pass through.
2. The incident occurred close to the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a narrow waterway between Yemen and the African country of Djibouti.
3. Similar attacks on ships have been attributed to the Houthi rebels, a militia group based in Yemen.
4. According to Ambrey, a fire broke out on the ship after the attack, and a container had fallen into the sea.
5. The container ship, operated by Hapag-Lloyd, was heading from the Greek port of Piraeus to Singapore at the time of the attack.
6. The United States National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, identified the container ship as the 370-meter-long "Al-Jasrah," which was completed in 2016.
7. Sullivan accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels, who he said were responsible for the attacks on the container ship.
8. The Iran-backed Houthi militia has a history of attacking Israeli ships in the Red Sea and has declared itself as part of the "Axis of Resistance" against Israel.
9. The US, along with its allies, is taking steps to increase security measures for shipping in the Red Sea to prevent these attacks from continuing.
10. The United States Department of Defense, along with British and French ships, has been patrolling the region and intercepting missiles.
11. Merchant ships, which do not have the same level of protection as warships, are particularly vulnerable to attacks in the Red Sea.
12. Crews of merchant ships that come under attack often leave the bridge and steer the ships remotely from an armored shelter to avoid heavy weaponry.

Source: www.stern.de