Yuri Kobzar15:07, 01/27/24

2 minutes.1011

Previously, the rebels promised not to touch Russian and Chinese ships.

Yemen’s Houthis hit a tanker carrying Russian oil in the Gulf of Aden. According to the BBC , the Marlin Luanda caught fire after being hit by a missile.

The tanker is managed by the British operator Trafigura. BBC journalists were told there that the fire started in one of the cargo compartments after a missile strike, and it was contained by standard fire-fighting equipment. No casualties were reported.

According to Bloomberg , the tanker was carrying naphtha – also known as naphtha, a mixture of heavy hydrocarbons heavier than gasoline – of Russian origin. Trafigura says the cargo was purchased in accordance with the sanctions, at a price below the ceiling set by Western countries almost a year ago.

The Houthis have already admitted responsibility for this strike, although they previously promised not to attack Russian and Chinese ships. True, Marlin Luanda flies the flag of the Marshall Islands and is managed by a British company. US officials said it was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile.

Situation in the Red Sea

As UNIAN wrote, after the start of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, began attacking merchant ships passing through the Red Sea. At first, only ships associated with Israel were attacked, but later the attacks became less selective .

Due to sharply increased risks, most merchant ships traveling on the Europe-Asia route began to avoid the shortest route through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Instead, they go around Africa from the west, which significantly increases the time and cost of transportation.

To eliminate the threat to commercial shipping, the United States and Britain began launching air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

(C)UNIAN 2024