A ship in the Red Sea near Eritrea was damaged after being hit on Oct. 10 by an unknown projectile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported on X, formerly Twitter.
The incident occurred 70 nautical miles southwest of Hudayah, Yemen, marking the first attack since Oct. 1, according to UKMTO posts. The unnamed ship was near where two additional projectiles exploded but was able to proceed to its next port of call, with the crew safe, UKMTO stated in a later update. No party was named as responsible.
The Oct. 1 incidents involved two ships damaged in the Red Sea and another hit in the Indian Ocean, marking the first attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in a month, coinciding with the Israeli military’s ground operation in Lebanon and Iran’s ballistic missile strikes against Israel.
The Yemen-based Houthis began targeting commercial ships linked to the US, UK and Israel in November in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on Oct. 7, 2023. Many shipowners have opted to avoid the Red Sea, rerouting around Africa to reach Europe, which has increased fuel consumption, costs and emissions.
Tanker costs have risen amid speculation of oil disruptions if Israel, a natural gas exporter and Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer, go to war. In August, Iran produced 3.18 million b/d, according to the latest Platts OPEC survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed the rate to carry a 140,000 metric ton crude cargo on a Suezmax from the Persian Gulf to the UK continent at $27.27 per metric ton on Oct. 9, up 17% from the start of the month.
