Yemen’s Houthi rebels fire missiles at British ship in Gulf of Aden

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 address today.

The Yemeni group says “appropriate naval missiles” were used on the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier and that the attacks were direct.

The Houthis added that they will continue to impose a “blockade on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas until a ceasefire is reached and the siege in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”

The vessel is operated by Helikon Shipping Enterprises, with offices in London, Athens and Dalian, China.

Helikon said in a response that the ship was owned by Greece and that details previously provided by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) were “informative”, without providing further details.

The British ship ‘LYCAVITOS’. The Yemeni group says “appropriate naval missiles” were used and the attacks were direct

British maritime security firm Ambrey said a bulk carrier suffered minor damage today after being targeted by an explosive projectile some 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, clarifying that the explosion occurred about 100 miles away and had no direct impact on the carrier. The crew members were unharmed, it added.

In addition, the UKMTO office today said it had received a report of an explosion near a ship some 85 nautical miles east of Aden.

It is not clear whether any of the attacks refer to the one on ‘LYCAVITOS’.

The attacks came as the United States said today it had seized an Iranian arms shipment intended for Yemeni rebels in January.

The seizure is part of a broader U.S. effort to counter Houthi attacks on the key shipping route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, which have prompted reprisals from U.S. and British forces, including a new wave of US attacks this week.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks on international commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait since mid-November, saying they stand in solidarity with Palestinians against Iran’s military actions Israel in Gaza.

Their targets were ships with commercial ties to the United States, Britain or Israel, shipping and insurance sources said.

The attacks have prompted several companies to halt trips to the Red Sea and opt for a longer and more expensive route around Africa.

Meanwhile, rising shipping costs due to Houthi rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea could mean Britain could face serious price rises and shortages on major household items such as white goods, sofas, garden furniture and barbecues this summer.

The price of global shipping containers rose by more than 300 percent between November 2023 and January as the chaos forced many companies to shift routes to longer and much more expensive shipping lanes.

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 influenced by freight prices.’

He explained that large household items now not only cost more but are also becoming prohibitively expensive to ship simply because they require larger containers.

“This will have a significant impact on end-user prices,” Glynne said, warning that there is likely to be a significant shortage of such items.

It comes after supermarket giant Sainsbury’s warned consumers they could struggle to find tea on supermarket shelves due to ‘nationwide supply issues’ linked to disruption to Red Sea shipments.

Marco Forgione, director general of the Institute for Export and International Trade, told MailOnline that CPI inflation could rise by as much as four percent if the conflict continues or escalates.

Mr Forgione told MailOnline: ‘Consumers will see slightly three impacts: price rises, inflation and the possibility of scarcity.

“If things continue like this and there is an escalation, you could see a CPI increase of somewhere between three and four percent.

‘Inflation at this time will take place on products coming through the Red Sea, such as wheat, corn, clothing and palm oil.

“If you look at the more general CPI, the basket of goods includes products that are not directly affected, but even those will experience price pressure as global shipping costs rise.”