Saudi Arabia identifies tanker attacked in Gulf of Aden

The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Thwarting a Terrorist Attack Targeting an Oil Tanker in the Arabian Sea. Image via Saudi Press Agency

Jeremy Binnie, London – Jane’s Defence Weekly

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Nations has identified the tanker that was attacked with a remotely controlled boat carrying explosives in the Gulf of Aden on 3 March as Gladiolus (IMO: 9169548), a Saudi-flagged vessel.

At the time, Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group in Yemen, said a tanker that was heading towards Aden was attacked 90 n miles southeast of the Yemeni coastal town of Nishtun by four boats, at least one of which was unmanned and carrying explosives.

Col Maliki did not say how the attack was thwarted or identify the perpetrators but the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) released photographs showing what appeared to be an armed man on a large vessel observing approaching skiffs, one of which then swerved away to reveal that no one was on board.

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Source: janes.com

Saudi coalition destroys Houthi SVBIEDs

The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception and Destruction of (2) Remote-Controlled Exploding Boats Launched by the Terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia from (Hodeida) Governorate

Riyadh, March 17, 2020, SPA — Statement by the Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen COL Turki Al-Malki

“This morning, Tuesday 17 March 2020, Coalition Naval forces detected an attempt by the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia to conduct an imminent hostile, terrorist act in Southern Red Sea using (2) R/C exploding boats launched from Hodeida governorate.
The two boats, representing a threat to regional and international security as well as SLOCs and international trade in Southern Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb strait, were totaled and destroyed.

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Source: spa.gov.sa

UKMTO reports numerous skiff sightings in Gulf of Aden

Following an incident involving a suspected Houthi SVBIED (boat bomb) in the Gulf of Aden, UKMTO reports that it has received “numerous” reports of skiff sightings in the Gulf itself, in position 1222.03N-04357.09E, in the vicinity of Point A on the IRTC.

While pattern of life sightings are not unusual, there is growing concern that a number of the vessels sighted are unmanned, leading to the suspicion that they are SVBIEDs waiting to be deployed.

So far, the threat posed by Houthi rebels to shipping off Yemen in both the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has been limited to vessels belonging to Saudi coalition forces, currently engaged in fighting in Yemen. However, the risk posed by rebels wrongly identifying a Saudi vessel should not be downlplayed.

All vessels are advised to adopt BMP 5 measures and ensure that UKMTO and other agencies are aware of their presence in the region.

Saudi-Led coalition carries out an operation in Yemen’s Salif: state TV

File image of suspected Houthi SVBIED (boat bomb), via http://crfimmadagascar.org

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Saudi-Led coalition fighting in Yemen carried out an operation against Iran-aligned Houthi targets in Yemen’s port district, Salif, Saudi state TV reported late on Saturday, citing the coalition.

The coalition said it destroyed sites used to assemble and launch explosives-laden boats and drones that pose a threat to maritime shipping lines in the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandeb strait.

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Source: reuters.com

Saudi Forces Report Attempted Bomb-Boat Attack on Tanker off Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s military said Wednesday that its forces prevented an “imminent terrorist attack” against an oil tanker about 90 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun, Yemen in the Arabian Sea.

“The failed terrorist attempt was carried out at [1439 hours] on Tuesday 03 March 2020 during the [voyage] of the oil tanker headed to Aden port. The attempt was carried out using (4) boats and attempting to bomb the oil tanker using one of the unmanned, remote-controlled exploding boats,” said Saudi spokesman Col. Turki Al-Malki in a statement.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Saudi-led coalition says it foiled Red Sea attack by Yemen’s Houthis

DUBAI (Reuters) – Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Sunday foiled an “imminent terrorist” attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the southern Red Sea, a major commercial shipping channel, the coalition said.

The forces destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives that was launched from Hodeidah province in western Yemen, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, without identifying the targets.

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Source: reuters.com

High Court: “Pirate Attack” was Attempted Fraud

In a ruling issued Monday, the High Court of London ruled that the tanker Brillante Virtuoso was irreparably damaged not by pirates, as her owner and banker claimed, but by a group of conspirators. Justice Nigel Teare found that the owner’s claims of piracy were improbable, and he reached the “firm conclusion” that the attackers intended to destroy the vessel, that they had the assistance of the master and chief engineer as they went about the task, and that the owner orchestrated the scheme in order to defraud his insurer.

On July 6, 2011, Brillante Virtuoso was drifting off Aden, awaiting a team of unarmed security contractors before transiting Bab el-Mandeb. A small boat approached carrying seven masked, armed men. The men informed the crew that they were “security,” and they came aboard with the master’s permission. (The disputants in the case agreed that the boarding party’s members were likely current or former Yemeni Coast Guard or Navy servicemenbers.) They ordered the crew to the day room, and escorted the master to the bridge and the chief engineer to the engine room.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Sailors from USS *Philippine Sea* rescue the crew of the *Brillante Virtuoso*

The threat of Houthi unmanned explosives-laden boats

by Shay, Shaul (Dr.)

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed an unmanned explosives-laden boat launched from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthi group on September 19, 2019, an incident that could further increase regional tensions after the attack on Saudi oil installations. Since 2017, in fact, there have been several reports of attacks or discovery of these unmanned explosive vessels in the country.

“The coalition’s naval forces detected an attempt by the terrorist Houthi militia backed by Iran to carry out an imminent act of aggression and terrorism south of the Red Sea using an unmanned, rigged boat … launched from Hodeidah province,” coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement. Malki said that the foiled attack represented a threat to regional and international security and the safety of maritime routes and international trade. He did not specify the intended target.[1]

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Source: ict.org.il

Safety in the Red Sea corridor can’t be taken for granted

by Omar S Mahmood

The Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden face many potential threats to free movement, ranging from the presence of non-state armed groups (such as the Houthis in Yemen) and organised crime outfits, to ongoing territorial disputes and environmental concerns. Yet maritime traffic has largely gone undisrupted in recent years.

The hitherto safe passageway of the Red Sea should not be taken for granted though, and the area has attracted significant geopolitical interest. New initiatives concerned with the shared maritime space are being conceived, including a Red Sea Forum championed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are also taking a greater interest. All these actors aim to address a perceived gap in management of the Red Sea space.

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Source: issafrica.org

Houthis Obstruct Oil Tankers to Threaten Maritime Security

Asma al-Ghabri

The Iran-backed Houthi militias’ refusal to implement a legitimate Yemen government order on collecting customs fees on all oil derivative revenues at Hodeidah port has led the halt of ten vessels in the Red Sea.

At Houthi orders, the oil tankers did not pay the revenues and did not disclose the certificate of origin of the shipment that ensures its legality.

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Source: aawsat.com