Yemen’s Houthi rebels formally assumed responsibility on Tuesday for a missile attack against a Turkish-managed bulker.
The 52,200-dwt Anadolu S (built 2014) was targeted on Monday because it “did not respond to the warnings of the [Houthi] naval forces and because the company that owns it violated the ban decision [sic] of entry to the ports of occupied Palestine”, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media.
Today’s announcement is somewhat symbolic, as it marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the Houthis’ campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
TradeWinds already reported on the double attack against the Anadolu S, which missed the ship, caused no injuries and apparently failed to stop it continuing its journey.
Officials at Oras Shipping, the Istanbul-based company managing the vessel, have not made any statement on the incident.
However, the Joint Maritime Information Center — an intelligence outfit of Western naval forces active in the area — said on Monday that it had found an “indirect association” between the Anadolu S and Israel.
This is commonly understood to mean that the Anadolu S, or another Oras vessel, traded in Israel at some point in time.
The information also chimes with a note released on Monday by Ambrey Analytics, according to which another Turkish-controlled vessel was threatened by the Houthis for the same reason on 9 November.
“Though the affected vessel had not called Israel in this period, several vessels in the owner’s fleet have appeared to call Israel since the Houthis declared a ‘ban’ on companies trading with Israel on 3 May 2024,” said Ambrey.
It added that the 9 November incident was the “first confirmed engagement of a Turkish-owned vessel” by the Yemeni rebel group.
The attack against a Turkish ship may be regarded by some as a surprise, considering that the government in Ankara is among the harshest critics of Israeli policy in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Houthis, however, have not shirked from attacking vessels belonging to non-Western interests, including ships linked to or trading with Russia and China.
