Adding to the growing panic for seafarers transiting the Middle East, the Houthis have claimed this week to have launched a homemade long-range hypersonic missile called the Hadim-2. This solid-fuel missile (pictured) was reportedly used to target a Liberian-flagged ship, the MSC Sarah V, in the Arabian Sea.
The authenticity remains unverified, and questions persist about whether it truly qualifies as homemade. The Houthis have been known to receive weapons from Iran. The missile’s design appears similar to Iranian-made munitions like the Fattah-1, which can travel at speeds of up to Mach 3.
The Houthis have upped their campaign against merchant shipping over the past fortnight, both in terms of the number of attacks as well as in their sophistication – targeting vessels by air and sea simultaneously with a ship sinking, others badly damaged and another seafarer dying.
Reports of another ship strike 84 nautical miles west of Hodeidah are emerging today with Splash estimates suggesting nearly 120 merchant vessels have been targeted by the Houthis in their seven-month campaign, which they say is in solidarity with Hamas’s ongoing war with Israel.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and seafarers’ unions globally earlier this week called on governments to step up and coordinate their efforts to protect seafarers sailing in or through the area. The ITF also demanded shipping companies demonstrate their commitment to their seafarers by diverting their ships and flag states were asked to instruct companies to divert their ships.
Many shipping analysts in recent weeks – including from Jefferies, Cleaves and Bank of America – have predicted the ongoing Red Sea shipping crisis will continue into the first half of next year.
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