The situation in the Red Sea region remains complicated
as the Houthis continue their attacks firing today (Mar 15) at a tanker while
reports are that they are now consulting with Hamas.
According to a report
from CNN, the fate of the car carrier Galaxy Leader and its
multi-national crew is now in the hands of Hamas while the Houthi are vowing
to further expand their region of attacks into the Indian Ocean
to stop all shipping related to Israel.
In possibly the latest
example of the Houthis using outdated information to target vessels, overnight
the crude oil tanker Pacific 01 (105,900 dwt) registered in
Panama reported an explosion while sailing in the Red Sea approximately 65
nautical miles west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen. Reports are that a second merchant
ship saw a missile pass overhead.
The Houthis are
calling the tanker “an Israeli ship,” likely because up until recently
databases show it was managed since 2015 by Eastern Pacific Shipping of
Singapore, controlled by Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer. However, current
data shows the ship known as the Koro Sea transferred
ownership and management last month to Pacific Ocean Energy Trans based in
Vietnam and took on the new name Pacific 01.
Security services have
warned of the dangers of these types of situations. Recent ownership transfers have also been linked to other targeting
using outdated information.
Adding to the
confusion, initial reports from the UK Maritime Trade Organizations and Ambrey
said the tanker had been hit and sustained unspecified damage. UKMTO later
clarified its report to say after a
daylight inspection the master said they had not been hit nor sustained damage,
and were proceeding with the AIS signal showing it is due to transit the Suez
Canal.
Repeatedly saying
their mission is to stop Israeli shipping or ships heading to Israel, the
Houthi according to the CNN report are now in direct coordination with
Hamas, the terrorist organization that Israel is targeting in Gaza after the
October attack on Israeli citizens.
The report says that
the Houthis decided they have no direct claim to the Galaxy Leader,
the car carrier linked to Israeli shipowner Abraham “Rami” Ungar and held since
November by the Houthis in Yemen. CNN
quotes a Houthi spokesperson saying the fate of the crew and the vessel is now
controlled by Hamas. They are reported to be responsible for the decision
of whether to release the crew.