Houthis Claim Stricken Ship Sinking; EU Launches Red Sea Mission

Houthi military spox brigadier general Yahya Saree has claimed that following a missile attack a container ship in the Red Sea has suffered 'catastrophic' damage and "As a result [...] it is now at risk of potential sinking." While not naming the vessel, it is wideley believed to be the Belize-flagged, British-registered Rubymar. With the crew having been forced to abandon ship due to the damage, this attack would appear to be the most serious incident of the Houthi's campaign to-date. The continued threat posed by the Houthis has been further highlighted by reports that for the first time asubmarine dronewas deployed by the group in the Red Sea on 18 Feb.

• The Rubymar incident comes on the same day that the EU launched its own Red Sea naval mission. The Naval Force Operation Aspides will initially see three frigates deployed to the Red Sea and its surrounds to protect EU-related vessels from Houthi attack.
• The US-led taskforce and the EU's Aspides force is unlikely to completely halt the Houthi's attacks any time soon. Indeed, the airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen are not viewed by Washington or its allies as likely to stop the campaign. Instead they seek to degrade the Houthi's ability to carry out attacks in terms of scale and frequency.
• The lasting impact of this is that the costly diversions engaged in by shipping companies are likely to have to continue over the medium-to-long term, feeding through into greater inflationary pressure.