Red Sea ship attacks: Inside disrupted shipping route over West Asia’s ‘gate of tears’

After a Japanese ship was targeted by a drone “fired from Iran” on Saturday (Dec 23), according to a Pentagon statement, the global spotlight is on Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the key global shipping route now under attack amid shaken geopolitical dynamics due to Israel-Hamas war. 

The merchant vessel Chem Pluto continues its journey towards India’s Mumbai. 

Indian Navy also responded by diverting naval ship Mormugao to assess the situation and provide assistance to MT Chem Pluto.

The attack came amid a flurry of new drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels on the vital Red Sea shipping lane since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, with the group claiming to act in solidarity with Gaza.

Around 20,000 ships transit every year through the Suez Canal, carrying millions of barrels of oil every day as well as the goods made in Asia.

According to the London-based International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) 12 per cent of world’s ship-borne trade passes through the Red Sea. 

The strait is called the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic. 

The armed attack on ships passing through the region has disrupted one of the busiest global shipping lanes.

The US has formed a naval task force to counter the Houthi threat.

Also watch | Israel-Hamas war: Indian flagged oil tanker attacked in Red Sea

Bab el-Mandeb, which is just 29-km wide at its narrowest point, is a strategically important strait due to where it is located.

Bab el-Mandeb separates the Arabian Peninsula from East Africa. The Red Sea opens into the Gulf of Aden, which joins the Arabian Sea and then the Indian Ocean, through Bab el-Mandeb. 

The strategically important island of Mayyum or Perim in the strait became part of South Yemen after the end of British imperialism in 1967. After Yemen’s unification in 1990, it came under the control of Sana’a, the capital of the united country.

The Houthis, who captured Sana’a in 2015, could never take control of Bab el-Mandeb. 

The Houthis, despite a semblance of cessation of hostilities during Yemeni civil war at present, have drones, short range rockets and even ballistic missiles reportedly due to Iranian support.

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed the responsibility for vessels attacked in Red Sea in the recent weeks.

They first declared war against Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians after former’s retaliatory attack in Gaza after October 7 attacks. 

The Houthis fired drones and ballistic missiles towards Israel, all of them were shot down either by US war ships or Israeli defence missiles. 

By the end of November, the Houthis reportedly began attacking commercial ships passing through the Red Sea. Initially they said they would attack only Israel-flagged ships but later they said all ships would be targeted.

According to Ambrey Analytics, a risk management firm, there were 37 incidents involving tankers from November 19 to December 18, most of which were around Bab el-Mandeb. 

Washington has not ruled out taking offensive measures, including bombing Houthi targets. With that backdrop, the possibility of a wider maritime warfare cannot be ruled out.

(With inputs from agencies)