Incident Alert – Two Vessels Attacked in the Southern Red Sea |
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Date: 15 December 2023 |
Position: Incident 1 – 13°58’08” N – 42°13’08” E
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Location: Southern Red Sea |
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Incident Details
The UKMTO released Warning 010/DEC/2023 and Update 001 following the report of a vessel being impacted by an unknown object 60Nm West of Hodiedah, Yemen. There were no reported casualties. In a second Warning 011/DEC/2023, UKMTO reported that another vessel had been attacked 30Nm Southwest of Mocha, Yemen. The master stated an explosion had taken place on the ship and the resulting fire had been extinguished. The crew and vessel are safe.
Comment
The identity of the vessel involved in the first incident has been confirmed as Al JASRAH a Liberian flagged container ship, the vessel was travelling north in the main shipping lane when the incident took place. In the second incident, the Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC PALATIUM III was identified as the vessel under attack the vessel was reported to be on fire. These incidents appear to be linked to the recent series of attacks against commercial vessels claimed by the Houthi authorities in Yemen. There are no indications currently if either vessel has links to Israel.
Analysis
It is most likely that the weapons that struck these vessels were Houthi launched missiles or Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS Drones). These incidents are consistent with others that have taken place in the last two weeks in both their method and consequence. All vessels transiting the area are advised to stay vigilant and take mitigation all available measures to protect the ship and crew.
