Russian and Chinese Ships Safe in Red Sea: Houthis

Russian and Chinese ships don’t need to fear attack in the Red Sea, Mohammad al-Bukhaiti, spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi militants, told Russian newspaper Izvestia, cited by Bloomberg.

• The Houthis had previously claimed to only be targeting Israeli-linked vessels but have since expanded that to include US and UK ships.
• “As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened. Moreover, we are ready to ensure the safe passage of their ships in the Red Sea, because free navigation plays a significant role for our country,” he said.
• However, media reports from Jan.12 indicate that the militants accidentally targeted a tanker, the Khalissa, carrying Russian oil from Ust-Luga.
• This was the second such near miss on a Russian tanker, according to Ambrey.
• The Houthis are likely using outdated open-source information to identify their targets, which had linked the tanker to the UK.