A Yemeni coastguard member loyal to the internationally-recognised government rides in a patrol boat in the Red Sea off of the government-held town of Mokha in the western Taiz province, close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on Dec. 12.KHALED ZIAD/Getty Images
Canada is joining a U.S-led maritime force to protect commercial ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack from drones and ballistic missiles fired from parts of Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the effort during a visit to Bahrain after midnight Tuesday local time.
Canada’s initial contribution will be a handful of personnel, two government sources said. One of the sources said these will be staff officers who will likely be assigned to work at a regional U.S. command and help with operational planning.
Canada has 12 naval frigates and six are in deep maintenance at any time, the source said. The ideal vessel for this maritime force would be an air-defence destroyer, able to handle threats such as anti-ship ballistic missiles, but Canada doesn’t have such a capability at the moment. New surface combatants still in production include ships with such capabilities.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan said he would be disappointed if Canada sends no ships to aid the Red Sea patrol. “This is an indictment of the government’s failure to ensure that the Royal Canadian Navy has the ships and personnel they need to do their job,” he said.
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Apart from trying to seize vessels, the Houthis have fired missiles at ships sailing past the Yemen coast toward the critical Bab el-Mandeb gateway, prompting some shipping companies to sail around Africa instead.
What is being called Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing countries including the United States, Canada, Britain, Bahrain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and the adjoining Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis have waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and even firing drones and missiles at Israel more than 1,600 kilometres from their seat of power in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Houthis said they launched a drone attack on two cargo vessels in the area on Monday, the latest in a series of missile and drone strikes on shipping that the rebel group says are a response to Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
“The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law,” Mr. Austin said in a statement. “The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade.”
The U.S. statement leaves many questions unanswered, including whether those countries are willing to do what U.S. warships have done in recent days – shoot down Houthi missiles and drones, and rush to the aid of commercial ships under attack.
Mr. Austin said some countries will conduct joint patrols while others provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
About 15 per cent of world shipping traffic transits through the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, and which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.
The seriousness of the Houthi attacks, several of which have damaged commercial vessels, has led multiple shipping companies to order their ships to hold in place and not enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, connecting the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, until the security situation can be addressed.
The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea has risen in recent days.
War-risk premiums have increased since early December, according to market estimates on Monday – translating into tens of thousands of dollars of additional costs for a seven-day voyage.
Oil major BP temporarily paused all transits through the Red Sea and oil tanker group Frontline said on Monday its vessels would avoid passage through the waterway, signs the crisis was broadening to include energy shipments.
With reports from Associated Press and Reuters
Steven Chase