[Freight Weekly] Centcom concerned over Houthi attacks

💀U.S. Navy say they can’t stop Houthi attacks on shipping with force💀

U.S. Naval Forces CENTCOM said force and firepower aren’t able to deal with the Yemeni-based Houthi militants. Washington, D.C., is looking for more options:

• Vice Adm. George Wikoff, CENTCOM commander, said, “The solution is not going to come at the end of a weapon system…It's going to be the international community." Wikoff delivered his remarks during an event put on by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.

• Wikoff’s remarks come as Houthis claim responsibility for attacking a Liberian-flagged container ship, U.S. warships. This is a disputed claim.

• Vice Adm. Wikoff, also the 5th Fleet Commander, said that the attack on warships, like the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, never happened. And that is what he characterizes as a Houthi-backed disinformation effort.

• Western forces, like the European Union’s naval missions in the Red Sea-Suez Canal corridors, continue to protect shipping in the region.

• Shipping has dropped significantly through the Suez Canal. Revenues fell to $7.2 billion in the 2023-24 FY from $9.4 billion the year before.

• Israeli air forces attacked a key port in Yemen, the Hodeidah port, which was controlled by Houthi technical targets based around the area.

Bottom line: Houthi incursions and attacks on shipping continue to harm the global economy. Western military intervention isn’t helping that much. More might be needed, according to officials like U.S. Vice Adm. George Wikoff.

CONTEXT: Cost rising for US as it fights off Houthi drones

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