The Houthis announced yesterday that they will escalate their attacks to include vessels passing through the Indian Ocean.

In a televised speech, a Houthi representative said, “Our main battle is to prevent ships linked to the Israeli enemy from passing through not only the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but also the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope. This is a major step, and we have begun to implement our operations related to it.”

Nearly three months have passed since the first attack by the Houthis on a commercial vessel. Since then, most carriers decided to divert their ships to sail around Africa in an attempt to avoid risk areas.

With the exception of CMA CGM, the reaction of leading container carriers was to avoid the Red Sea. The French carrier decided to make the rerouting decisions fro vessels it operates on a case-by-case basis.

So far, the Houthis have focused their attacks in the areas around Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Expanding the scale to include the Indian Ocean is likely to put more vessels at risk.

In recent weeks, the attacks have resumed, and the first fatalities have occurred on the Barbados-flagged True Confidence, a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

The container ship, MSC Sky II, was the latest boxship to be attacked. While the attack damaged the ship, no casualties were reported.

In addition, the Rubymar, a bulk carrier sailing under the flag of Belize, sank in the Red Sea after it was hit by a missile, making it the first total loss of the Houthis campaign

Houthi rebels employ relatively simple methods, such as utilising drones for attacks, making it exceedingly difficult to prevent them entirely.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is very narrow. This narrowness allowed Houthi rebels to swiftly retreat to the shore after launching attacks, leaving Allied navy vessels primarily engaged in preventive measures.