The gunboat have proved a fatal weapon in the Red Sea battle off Yemen, marking a new escalation in the ongoing war between the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group and the U.S.-led naval forces.
Yesterday, the Houthi group confirmed that it used a gunboat to sink the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier, in the Red Sea. It is the first time the group has acknowledged the use of this weapon since the beginning of its war on the shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
A Houthi military source revealed details about the boat that was used in the attack, saying the boat is called Toofan 1, and it carries a 150 kg warhead. It can move at high speed and maneuverability.
According to the source, the Toofan 1 self-driving boat moves at a speed of 35 nautical miles per hour, and it is employed to target nearby fixed and moving maritime targets, including "enemy warships and naval installations".
On Friday evening, the Houthi media published video footage showing the moment when the boat was sailing at a high speed, colliding with the Tutor ship and causing a massive explosion. The group considered such a weapon "a qualitative addition to enhancing the capabilities of its naval forces."
So far, Houthis have sunk two ships and seized another since November last year, when they began their war on shipping lanes as part of what they say is their support for Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has killed over 37000 people. In March, the Belize-flagged Rubymar carrying fertilizer sank in the Red Sea after taking on water for days following a Houthi attack.
The recent rise in Houthi attacks has underscored the group's continued capability to threaten ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Observers attribute the Yemeni group's continued attacks to the steady flow of Iranian arms and expertise both to withstand U.S. strikes and remain on the attack.
The Toofan 1, which the group used in its latest attack, was shown in September 2022 during a military parade in Sanaa. At the time, Houthi media said A locally made Tufan 1 unmanned boat can carry a 150 kg warhead, and its speed reaches 35 nautical miles per hour, indicating that the Toofan is part of defense weapons in the coastal and the Yemeni islands.
The other boats that were revealed included Asef 1, which is characterized by its high speed and superior maneuverability, besides its ability to carry medium and light weapons.
Asef 2 boat has multiple reconnaissance and intelligence missions and carries some electronic warfare, monitoring, reconnaissance, and jamming devices.
The other boat that was shown is called Asef 3. According to the Houthi-run Saba News Agency, Asef 3 is one of the fastest boats and has superior maneuverability. It carries medium and air defense weapons such as (a 23-caliber cannon) and 6 personnel with their equipment. The boat has multiple combat missions, including intercepting moving naval targets and storming ships.
Since November, the Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and killed four sailors.
Despite months of U.S.-led airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, the Iran-backed Yemeni group continues to threaten some of the world's most vital shipping routes.
The U.S. Naval Institute's news service reported yesterday that the American aircraft carrier Eisenhower would be returning home to Norfolk, Virginia, after an over eight-month deployment in combat that the Navy says has been its most intense since World War II. The report said an aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific would be taking over.
The closest American aircraft carrier known to be operating in Asia is the USS Theodore Roosevelt. However, the Houthis said no American warship or military asset will be able to stop the attacks on the hostile ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hussein Al-Ezzi said, "Roosevelt will not be luckier than Eisenhower and the solution is to immediately end the militarization of the Red Sea and modify the aggressive behavior towards Arab and Muslim countries, especially Yemen."
As the magnitude of the Houthi attacks keeps magnifying, a European Union naval force created to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea needs to more than double in size, the head of the operation said.
In an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said that four EU vessels have been patrolling the waters off Yemen since February. The four vessels have provided "close assistance" to 164 ships, shot down more than a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles and destroyed four anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to Gryparis.
He added, "We don't have that many assets and the whole area we have to cover is enormous. I am pressing all the member states to provide more assets."
