Vessel attacked by multiple small boats in the Red Sea

A merchant ship in the southern Red Sea was approached by a dozen small boats, including speedboats and kayaks, some uncrewed. The incident occurred about 13 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen. The small boats came within 1.5 nautical miles of the ship and remained close for almost an hour before retreating. Fortunately, the ship and its crew are safe and have continued their journey to their next port of call.

The incident coincided with the unveiling of a new unmanned surface vessel (USV) by the Iran-backed Houthis. The USV, named “Flood the Destroyer,” is a Yemeni-made guided attack boat with a significantly larger warhead compared to its predecessor. Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS risk group, noted that this is the second new USV introduced by the Houthis within a week, following the unveiling of “Tufan 1.”

Kelly believes that the Houthis have become more aggressive following recent successful attacks, including the sinking of the M/V Tutor in June. He stated that the Houthi attacks are becoming more deadly and harder to defend against. In response to the escalating threats, US Central Command reported the destruction of three Houthi ships in the Red Sea within a 24-hour period.

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