Houthi rebels have released a video that purports to show a hit on a Greek-owned bulker in the Red Sea this week.
As TradeWinds has reported, the 60,400-dwt Cyclades (built 2017) was damaged after being targeted by three missiles and as many drones in the southern Red Sea on 29 April.
US and UK military authorities, however, said that the crew and the ship sailed on safely to its next port of call.
Officials at the vessel’s managers Eastern Mediterranean Maritime (Eastmed) have not commented on the incident.
The footage shows a projectile being launched, presumably from Houthi territory, amid cheering from the group’s fighters.
Then, separate footage from a camera attached to the projectile shows it slowly approaching the Cyclades until video transmission stops, presumably on impact.
The Houthis said they targeted the ship because it was allegedly heading to Israel’s port of Eilat “using … deception by claiming that it was heading to another port”.
It is official Houthi policy to target vessels that are affiliated with the US, the UK and Israel or that are trading with Israel, to pressure the Israeli government to stop its military campaign against the Palestinian Hamas group in Gaza.
The Houthis have launched about 90 attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since mid-November.
The attacks — carried out through drones, missiles, attempted boardings and one hijacking — have caused the death of three seafarers and 10 Houthi fighters, and 25 crew members being taken hostage on the 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002).
Furthermore, retaliatory Western air force strikes on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen have caused other victims.
Most Houthi attacks are stopped or miss their targets completely. However, about a dozen vessels were hit, with one of them sinking.
Even though the group claims to be targeting only ships affiliated with Israel, the US and the UK, its attacks have become indiscriminate over time — whether by accident or design.
