Just when you thought the Red Sea was a nice place again
On Saturday 25th March the Italian Navy Maestrale class frigate, ITS Espero, joined the EU Naval Force off the coast of Somalia. Odds are, they are going to need it, and a few minesweepers.
Saudi Naval forces along the Hodeida coast have found and cleared a number of Houthi-placed sea mines.
Saudi and Yemeni naval engineers cleared Iranian-made mines which Houthi militias planted along the coast of the Hodeida area.
Mines were swept by the water currents to the sea so the coalition forces had to look for them and remove them to protect fishermen and oil tankers in international waters.
Few days ago, a mine blew up killing a number of fishermen and injuring others.
The largest number of mines was planted along the coasts in north and south Hodeida with technical help from Iranian and Hezbollah experts who entered Yemen for this particular task, according to the Yemeni legitimate army.
Meanwhile, it’s apparently open season on Somali refugees encountered at sea, with 42 reportedly killed off the Yemeni coast near Hodeida in a helicopter-borne attack. Word on the street is that the chopper came from allies of the recognized Yemeni government (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have all reportedly used AH-64s in the conflict), while other sources pin it on the Houthi who are lacking in helicopter gunships.
And, to further amp up regional tensions for mariners, Somali pirates recently returned from retirement due to bad fishing grounds have reportedly hijacked a dhow in the vicinity of Eyl, a city in northern Somalia that was once a hub for maritime piracy. Local authorities suggest that they may intend to use the small vessel for hijacking a merchant ship further offshore.
And the beat goes on…