Arabian Peninsula News

The U.S. Navy's efforts to build a fleet of unmanned vessels are faltering because the Pentagon remains wedded to big shipbuilding projects, according to some officials and company executives, exposing a weakness as sea drones reshape naval warfare.The lethal effectiveness of sea drones has been demonstrated in the Black Sea where Ukraine has deployed remote-controlled speed boats packed with explosives to sink Russian frigates and minesweepers since late 2022.Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have employed similar vessels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months…

Maersk said explosions nearby forced two ships operated by its U.S. subsidiary and carrying U.S. military supplies to turn around when they were transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, accompanied by the U.S. Navy."While en route, both ships reported seeing explosions close by and the U.S. Navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles," Maersk said in a statement, adding it was suspending Red Sea transits by vessels of the U.S. subsidiary.A spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi military forces said they fired ballistic missiles at several U.S. warships that were protecting two U.S.

Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the U.S., Iranian state media reported, a move likely to stoke regional tensions.The seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes."After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ...

An oil tanker caught up in a dispute last year between the United States and Iran was boarded by armed individuals off the coast of Oman on Thursday and appeared to have changed course towards Iran, according to UK maritime sources.The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas was boarded by armed intruders as it sailed close to the Omani city of Sohar, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, and its AIS tracking system was turned off as it headed in the direction…

Yemen's Houthis have been targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in attacks that the Iran-aligned group says aim to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.Several freight firms including MSC, the world's largest container shipping line, said they would avoid the Suez Canal as a result, which could mean having to circumnavigate Africa instead.War risk insurance premiums have risen as a result.WHAT ARE THE RECENT HOUTHI ATTACKS?* Dec.

Saudi Arabia has asked the United States to show restraint in responding to attacks by Yemen's Houthis against ships in the Red Sea, two sources familiar with Saudi thinking said, as Riyadh seeks to contain spillover from the Hamas-Israel war.The Iran-aligned Houthis have waded into the conflict that has spread around the Middle East since war erupted on Oct. 7, attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel itself.The group which rules much…

A U.S. Navy warship shot down a drone in the Red Sea that emanated from Yemen, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in what appeared to be only the second time the United States has brought down projectiles near its warships since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the conflict and has been trying to ensure that it does not spread in the region.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity…

Yemen's Houthi leader said on Tuesday his forces would make further attacks on Israel and they could target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.The Iran-aligned group made several missile and drone attacks against Israel this month, highlighting the risk of the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas spreading into the wider Middle East.The Houthis, who have been at war against a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, have emerged as a major military force in the Arabian Peninsula…

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

The U.S. Navy on Wednesday sent an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) through the Strait of Hormuz as it ramps up its use of high-tech unmanned assets for patrols and monitoring at sea.The transit was reportedly the Navy's fist for a USV through the busy and strategically important strait, demonstrating the continued operational integration of unmanned and artificial intelligence systems by U.S. maritime forces in the Middle East.The L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 USV was accompanied by a pair of Sentinel-class Coast Guard cutters…

The United States has transferred three U.S. Navy patrol craft to the Egyptian Navy in an effort to help boost regional maritime security.During a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt on March 21, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) turned over USS Hurricane (PC 3), USS Sirocco (PC 6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), three former Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships built by Bollinger Shipyards in the early 1990s.“The Egypt-U.S. maritime partnership has been a fundamental pillar of our bilateral defense cooperation for decades,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S.

“We're not tinkering. We're building enhanced maritime domain awareness.”The U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, based in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. Fifth Fleet, is advancing the operational employment and integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in fleet operations.According to Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the fleet commander, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence are helping to accelerate innovation, especially in such a vast area of responsibility (AOR)“It's 5…

Pirate attacks against merchant ships off the African coast have been reported regularly over the past decade. And despite measures to suppress it, Somalia-based piracy remains a concern. On the other side of the continent, the Gulf of Guinea is now viewed as presenting a much more serious piracy problem.Last year a record 130 crew members were kidnapped in 22 separate incidents, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The cluster of attacks in November and December has…

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen destroyed two explosive-laden boats in the Red Sea on Thursday, its spokesman said.The two remotely controlled boats belonged to Houthi forces and were threatening navigation, his statement carried on Saudi state news agency SPA said.They were destroyed 6 km (3.7 miles) south of the Yemeni port of Salif in the early hours of Thursday morning, he said.Yahya Sarea, a Houthi armed forces a spokesman…

Armed pirates attacked a British-flagged chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday but were repulsed, the ship's manager Stolt Tankers said.The pirates approached the Stolt Apal in two speedboats some 75 nautical miles off Yemen, it said, in one of the most important trade routes for oil heading from the Middle East to Europe."After multiple warning shots were fired by the armed guard team aboard Stolt Apal, the skiffs opened fire on the ship. The armed guard team returned fire, disabling one skiff and ending the pursuit," a company spokesman told Reuters in emailed comments."A coalition warship (also) responded and Stolt Apal has resumed her voyage…

A Japanese destroyer left for the Gulf of Oman on Sunday amid simmering Middle East tension to guard sea lanes that supply nearly all the oil that powers the world's third-biggest economy."Thousands of Japanese ships ply those waters every year including vessels carrying nine tenths of our oil. It is Japan's lifeline," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the crew at Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo, before they cast off in a ceremony attended by 500 family members and representatives from the United States…

The global port operator DP World has been awarded a 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), for the management and development of the Jeddah South Container Terminal at the multi-purpose Jeddah Islamic Port.According to a press release from the UAE-based world leader in global supply chain solutions, under the agreement, DP World will invest up to $500 million to improve and modernize the Jeddah Islamic Port, including major infrastructure development to enable the Port to serve the ultra-large container carriers (ULCC’s), which are considered the world’s largest mega containerships.Established in 1976, the Jeddah Islamic Port is on the red sea and the largest port in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with annual volumes of over 6 million TEU’s.

Three ‘megamax’ quayside ship-to-shore (STS) cranes sailed up the River Mersey, destined for the Liverpool2 container terminal, UK, completing the final stage of their voyage from China.The cranes are part of work on the second phase of the Liverpool2 project to provide additional capacity for growing volumes of cargo.Their arrival follows Peel Ports announcing a record-breaking month for its container operations at the Port of Liverpool. Quayside and landside throughput in October at exceeded all previous figures on record with year on year growth of 12%.Mark Whitworth, Chief Executive Officer of Peel Ports, said: “An increasing number of businesses are understanding that it makes more sense to ship products closer to their end destinations.

Britain says it fended off Iranian attempt to block its oil tankerThree Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the strait that controls the flow of Middle East oil to the world, but backed off when confronted by a Royal Navy warship, Britain said on Thursday.A week after Britain seized an Iranian tanker accused of violating sanctions on Syria, London said the British Heritage, operated by oil company BP, had been approached in the Strait of Hormuz…

Abu Dhabi Ports and the Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA) have signed an agreement to pool their combined expertise to enhance the maritime sector across the Indian Ocean, from port infrastructure and security to protecting the environment and driving the cruise industry.Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Abu Dhabi Ports and MPA will explore areas of collaboration between the public and private sectors, as well as how to ensure the safety and security of passengers, crew members, vessels and port facilities.The MoU will see the two ports research the most effective use of tugboats, as well as training initiatives for deck and…

The U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia said Washington should take what he called "reasonable responses short of war" after it had determined who was behind attacks on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.Iran was a prime suspect in the sabotage on Sunday although Washington had no conclusive proof, a U.S. official familiar with American intelligence said on Monday. Iran has denied involvement."We need to do a thorough investigation to understand what happened, why it happened, and then come up with reasonable responses short of war," Ambassador John Abizaid told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh in remarks published on Tuesday."It's not in (Iran's) interest…

Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and said it was an attempt to undermine the security of crude supplies amid tensions between the United States and Iran.The UAE said on Sunday that four commercial vessels were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz, but did not describe the nature of the attack or say who was behind it.The UAE had not given the nationalities or other details about the ownership of the four vessels. Riyadh has identified two of them as Saudi and a Norwegian company has said it owned another.

Oman’s gas production levels are set to surpass oil by 2023 thanks to an impressive surge in the development of gas fields in the sultanate, according to Rystad Energy, the independent energy research and consulting firm headquartered in Norway.“Gas is on the rise in the Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia, and this transition is very timely. Oil output declines over the last two years may indicate a point of no return for Omani oil, but the country’s sliding oil production is set to be replaced by gas,” said Rystad Energy analyst Aditya Saraswat.At peak production in 2016, Oman’s oil output reached 900…