By Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthis have been targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait in attacks the Iran-aligned group says aim to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had carried out a military operation against a Norwegian commercial tanker in the Red Sea, with their spokesman vowing to continue blocking ships heading to Israeli ports until Israel allows the entry of food and medical aid into Gaza.
WHAT ARE THE RECENT HOUTHI ATTACKS?
* Dec. 12: Houthi spokesman says group targeted Norwegian commercial tanker STRINDA. The attack took place about 60 nautical miles (111 km) north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait at about 2100 GMT, a U.S. official told Reuters.
* Dec. 9: Houthis warn they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.
* Dec. 3: U.S. military says three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, as Houthis claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.
* Nov. 19: Israel says Houthis seized a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.
WHAT IS BAB AL-MANDAB?
* Bab al-Mandab, or the Gate of Tears, named for its perilous navigation, is the outlet of the Red Sea, between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.
* It is one of the world's most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or SUMED pipeline, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.
* Bab al-Mandab was the site of a naval blockade of Israel by Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
* Bab al-Mandab is 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, making tanker traffic difficult and limited to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, divided by the island of Perim.
* Around 7.80 million barrels per day of crude and fuel shipments transited the strait in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 6.60 million bpd throughout 2022, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. On average, Vortexa tracked 27 tankers carrying crude or fuel each day in 2023, up from 20 last year.
* According to the Energy Information Administration, 12% of total seaborne-traded oil in the first half of 2023 as well as 8% of LNG trade passed through Bab al-Mandab, the SUMED pipeline and the Suez Canal.
Sources: Reuters, Energy Information Administration, Vortexa