Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Port City News

11 Mar 2024

US-British Forces Strike Houthi Targets in Yemen

© Peter Hermes Furian / Adobe Stock

Yemen's port city of Hodeidah and other western coastal areas were hit on Monday by a dozen airstrikes attributed to a U.S.-British coalition defending ships in the Red Sea, according to Al Masirah, the main Houthi-run television news outlet.The strikes follow the first civilian fatalities and vessel loss since the Iran-aligned Houthis began attacking commercial shipping in November. They also coincide with the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting for Muslims.Al Masirah did not specify which targets…

11 Mar 2024

Missile-Related Incident Reported Off Yemen's Hodeidah

© Yellow Boat / Adobe Stock

A missile-related incident has been reported west of Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday.Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of a sound of an explosion in the vicinity of a vessel 71 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Saleef.The vessel and crew were safe, UKMTO added.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war with Hamas in Ga

08 Mar 2024

Who Are Yemen's Houthis and Why Are They Attacking Ships in the Red Sea?

The tanker Marlin Luanda was struck by an anti-ship missile fired by Houthi forces on January 26, 2024 (Photo: Indian Navy)

Yemen's Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, prompting retaliatory U.S. and U.K. strikes against the Iran-aligned group.In the first fatalities reported since the Houthis began their attacks on shipping in one of the world's busiest trade lanes, a Houthi missile on Wednesday killed three seafarers on the Greek-owned, Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence some 50 nautical miles from Yemen's port of Aden.HistoryIn the late 1990s…

07 Mar 2024

US to Build Temporary Port to Deliver Gaza Aid

© UnitedPixels / Adobe Stock

President Joe Biden will announce in his State of the Union speech on Thursday that the U.S. military will construct a temporary port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea, senior administration officials said.Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envisage the deployment of U.S. military personnel in Gaza, the officials told a news briefing.The officials also said that Hamas is delaying a new deal with Israel on…

05 Mar 2024

MSC Containership Hit by Houthi Missile Sailing to Djibouti

(Photo: Indian Navy)

Container ship MSC Sky II was continuing its voyage to Djibouti on Tuesday after being hit by a missile a day earlier near Yemen's port city of Aden, its operator MSC said.MSC Sky II was hit by a missile about 85 miles southeast of Aden and 170 miles east-southeast of the Bab al-Mandab Strait while it was sailing from Singapore to Djibouti, the Swiss-headquartered MSC said in a statement."The missile caused a small fire that has been extinguished while no crew were injured. She is currently continuing her journey to Djibouti and will arrive today for further assessment…

04 Mar 2024

Fire Caused by Blasts Breaks Out on Ship Southeast of Aden

© Maciej Olszewski / Adobe Stock

A fire caused by nearby explosions broke out onboard a vessel southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Monday, before being contained, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British security firm Ambrey reported."The Master reports the fire onboard has been extinguished and that the crew are all safe. Coalition Forces are responding," UKMTO said in a recent update on the incident.It later added that the vessel was clear of the area and was proceeding to its…

22 Feb 2024

Vessel Attacked by Missiles Southeast of Yemen's Aden

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

Two missiles were fired at a vessel in an attack southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Thursday, causing a fire onboard, Britain's maritime agency said.US-led coalition forces are responding to the incident, which took place 70 nautical miles from Aden in the direction of the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said without elaborating."It has been reported that a vessel was attacked by two missiles, resulting in a fire on board," the UKMTO said.Iran-backed Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and

18 Feb 2024

Houthis Claim Missile Attack on Oil Tanker

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility on Saturday for an attack on the oil tanker M/T Pollux, which U.S. officials said the previous day had been hit by a missile."The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against a British oil ship (Pollux) in the Red Sea with a large number of appropriate naval missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement, adding the strikes "were accurate and direct".U.S. Central Command…

12 Feb 2024

Houthis Target Cargo Ship Bound for Iran

© Sergey Zhmurchak / Adobe Stock

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have targeted a cargo ship in the Red Sea which shipping analysts said on Monday had been carrying corn to Iran.It appeared to be the first time the Houthis have targeted an Iran-bound vessel since starting attacks on international shipping in solidarity with Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, shipping sources said.A U.S. defence official said it was likely that the ship had been targeted but not hit, but provided no further comment. Earlier…

11 Feb 2024

US Strikes Unmanned Surface Vessels Near Yemen

© Peter Hermes Furian / Adobe Stock

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday its forces on Feb. 10 had carried out strikes on two unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and three anti-ship cruise missiles north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah that were threatening ships in the area."CENTCOM identified these USVs and missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," it added.(Reuters - Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Edmund Blair)

09 Feb 2024

Israel Intercepts 'Suspicious Target' off Haifa

© maratr / Adobe Stock

Israel's military said it had intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" on Friday off the northern port city of Haifa amid high tension along its frontier with Lebanon.The seaports of Haifa and Ashdod are crucial gateways for Israel's trade.An Israeli military spokesperson said the target had not caused any damage or injuries."I cannot confirm exactly how close it was to the port, but the fact that, according to protocol, no sirens were sounded means that it was far enough," the spokesperson said, declining to say whether the target or its source had been identified.In December, the Israeli mil

14 Jan 2024

US Says it Shot Down Missile Heading Towards USS Laboon

Lt. j.g. John Galvin monitors aircraft activity near the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) while the ship operates in support of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) in the Bab al-Mandeb, Dec. 30, 2024. (Source: US Navy)

U.S. fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward a U.S. destroyer operating in the Southern Red Sea, the U.S. military said on Sunday.The midair interception is the latest incident in the Red Sea where the Houthis have been attacking international shipping in what they say is a campaign to support Palestinians under seige from Israeli forces in Gaza.It follows a series of American and British airstrikes on Houthi targets…

12 Jan 2024

Houthis Mistakenly Target Tanker Carrying Russian Oil

© MrAVP / Adobe Stock

Houthi militants mistakenly targeted a tanker carrying Russian oil in a missile attack on Friday off Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said it had received a report of a missile being fired 90 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's port city of Aden."The master reported a missile landing in the water 400-500 metres away, and being followed by three small craft," the UKMTO advisory note said, adding…

07 Jan 2024

Iran Guards Commander Challenges 'Enemy' Naval Presence in Region

© luzitanija / Adobe Stock

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed on Saturday to reach "the enemy" far and near as tensions soar on key shipping routes where Tehran’s allies have been attacking vessels."Today, we are facing an all-out battle with the enemy," said Guards commander Hossein Salami at a ceremony in the southern Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, where the Guards' navy unveiled a new ship named "Abu Mahdi" and 100 missile launchers.Salami did not name the enemy, but 22 nations have…

05 Nov 2023

Ukraine Hits Russian Shipyard

© Peter Hermes Furian / Adobe Stock

Ukraine rained 15 cruise missiles on Russia's shipyard in the Crimean port city of Kerch on Saturday, damaging one ship, Russian defence ministry said, in an attack that could further undermine Moscow's striking capabilities.Thirteen of the missiles were destroyed in the air, while one hit a ship, the Russian defence ministry said in a typically laconic statement when reporting on Ukraine's strikes on Russian territory or infrastructure. It did not give the ship's name.Ukraine's top Air Force commander said the Russian Navy stationed there one of its most modern ships…

16 Oct 2023

Fearing China, South Korea Targets Contractors on Taiwan Navy Submarines

Credit: Taiwan President Website

South Korean authorities cited the risk of Chinese economic retaliation when they charged marine technology firm SI Innotec last year with violating trade laws for its work on Taiwan's new military submarine program, according to a police document seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.In a Feb. 17, 2022, affidavit to a judge seeking the arrest of SI Innotec executive director Park Mal-sik, police said authorities feared a repeat of the sweeping sanctions imposed by Beijing in 2016, after Seoul decided to install THAAD, a U.S. anti-missile system.

02 Aug 2023

Russia Strikes Port Facilities in Ukraine's Izmail

© Lindasky76 / Adobe Stock

Russian state news agency RIA said overnight Russian strikes on the Ukrainian port of Izmail had hit port and grain infrastructure housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware, as well as a naval ship repair yard.RIA cited Sergei Lebedev, a man it described as a coordinator of an underground group in the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv and who it said had sources in Izmail, Ukraine's main inland port across the Danube River from Romania.It quoted Lebedev as saying that there had been eight separate Russian strikes on Izmail and that an oil terminal had been hit…

27 Jul 2023

NATO Boosts Black Sea Surveillance

© Genya / Adobe Stock

NATO said on Wednesday it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia's exit from a deal assuring the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain.The announcement came after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body established earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the Western military alliance and Kyiv."Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend…

24 Jul 2023

Russia Attacks Danube Grain Export Route

© markobe / Adobe Stock

Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River in a drone attack on Monday, targeting a vital export route for Kyiv in an expanding air campaign that Moscow began last week after quitting the Black Sea grain deal.Last week's attacks mostly struck the sea ports of Odesa but Monday's pre-dawn strikes hit infrastructure along the Danube, an export route whose importance has grown since the demise of the deal allowing Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea."The Russian terrorists have again attacked the Odesa region overnight.

06 Jul 2023

Iran Seizes Commercial Ship in the Gulf

© Adhi / Adobe Stock

Iran's Revolutionary Guards "forcibly seized" a commercial ship in international waters in the Gulf on Thursday and the vessel was possibly involved in smuggling, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said.The U.S. Navy had monitored the situation and decided not to make any further response, U.S. 5th Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins said.British maritime security company Ambrey said it was aware of an attempted seizure by Iranian forces of a small Tanzanian flagged tanker, around…

15 Jun 2023

Shipwreck Off Greece Claims the Lives of at Least 78 Migrants. Search Underway for Survivors

©Hellenic Coast Guard

Rescuers scoured seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation, as hopes dwindled of finding survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 78 migrants in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters in recent years.Reports suggested hundreds of people had packed the fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday in deep waters about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos, while being shadowed by the Greek coast guard. As dawn broke on Thursday, a coast guard vessel sailed into the nearby port city of Kalamata, transferring victims.

15 May 2023

How Gdańsk is Reclaiming its Industrial Waterfront

© Piotr Wawrzyniuk / Adobe Stock

The prosperity of port cities, throughout history, has been closely tied to the ports’ ability to adapt to economic and technological change. As ships got bigger, ports had to keep up. This has often seen the port proper grow apart from the city whose name it bears because the old harbor could no longer accommodate the needs of modernized shipping.In those European cities located by rivers, port activities have often migrated towards the estuary. The ships headed for the port of Liverpool now berth in docks stretching north of the original Royal Albert dock…

28 Feb 2023

Russia’s Inability to Dominate the Sea has Changed the Course of the War in Ukraine

(Image: Ukrposhta)

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, most of the fighting has been on land. However, there has also been a less visible – but nonetheless crucial – maritime dimension to the war across the full spectrum of tactical, strategic, economic and diplomatic considerations.After land troops crossed the Ukraine border on February 24 2022, the Russian navy quickly secured control of the northwestern Black Sea. This meant it could contribute to the air campaign against Ukraine by launching cruise missiles from the sea.