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Yemen Houthis attacked a Marshall Islands-flagged liquified petroleum gas tanker on Friday marking the third time a vessel was attacked within 48 hours, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing British security firm Ambrey. Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden earlier on Thursday with no damage to vessels or injuries reported, the newswire wrote in a separate report, citing US Central Command (Centcom). Centcom destroyed four unmanned aerial systems (UAVs) and one surface-to-air missile in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen in response, identifying the military assets as “an imminent threat” to merchant shipping and US warships in the Red Sea, Centcom said.
Cape of Good Hope in their sights: The Houthis are now looking to expand the scope of attacks into the Indian Ocean to prevent Israel-linked shipping diversions, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing televised statements by the group’s leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi. “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,” Al-Houthi said.
Houthis may also be testing out hypersonic missiles, a Houthi source reportedly told Russian state-news agency RIA Novosti on Thursday. The missiles can achieve speeds that are up to eight times the speed of sound, and will be manufactured in Yemen for use against targets in the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Israel, the source reportedly said.
Africa is missing out on windfall gains from rerouted journeys: The continent’s outdated and inefficient port infrastructure is preventing it from fully exploiting a surge in traffic on the back of reroutes due to Red Sea disruptions, Bloomberg reported on Thursday citing logistics experts. Turmoil in the Red Sea has seen an 85% boost in vessels sailing around the Cape of Good Hope since Houthi-led attacks began in mid-December last year, with ports in South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Namibia standing as the principal beneficiaries of the surge in volumes, the outlet said citing manufacturing and logistics company Fictiv. “However, most ports in Africa are inefficient and not in the best condition to be able to fully realize all the benefits,” Fictiv’s head of logistics Vinny Licata said.
South African ports are particularly bad: Equipment failures, staff shortages, and other shortcomings at the country’s maritime hubs mean that they can’t meet the surge in demand for services, seeing carriers pass them over as restocking and refueling points, Bloomberg also said. The lack of preparedness of South Africa’s ports has come to the benefit of ports in Madagascar, Namibia, and Mauritius, which also lie along reroutes, Freight Right Global Logistics Founder and CEO Robert Khachatryan told the outlet.
IN OTHER DISRUPTION NEWS-
The Indian Navy has recaptured a Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel, dubbed Ruen, that was hijacked by Somali pirates last year, Reuters reported on Saturday citing an Indian navy spokesperson. The operation saw navy commandos storm the ship, resulting in the surrender of all 35 pirates aboard and the rescue of 17 crew members. The Ruen is speculated to have been used as a base for the piracy operation that saw a Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel hijacked off of Somalia’s coast last week, the newswire said citing the European Union naval force.
Trading houses Trafigura and Mercuria have shut down their main bunkering operations in South Africa amid a tax dispute with South African authorities, Reuters reported last week, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. South Africa has halted offshore refueling operations run by oil giant BP, Mercuria’s Minerva Bunkering, and Trafigura’s Heron Marine, while also detaining vessels pending an audit, the newswire said. This has led vessels sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to turn instead to Mauritius or Namibia for bunkering services, with Trafigura and Minerva partnering with entities in Mauritius to establish their services there, the newswire wrote.
