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By Lenny Ben-David
On Monday, December 14, 2020, a fuel tanker, the Singapore-flagged
BW Rhine, was hit with an explosion while unloading at the Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea. The resulting fire was extinguished, and the crewmen were rescued. The Red Sea is a crucial shipping route between the narrow Bab-el Mandeb and the Suez Canal, and recently, ships have been sailing the gauntlet avoiding terrorist acts, mines, and remotely-steered explosive boats. It is believed that the
Rhine was hit by a robot boat, probably steered by Houthis, a Yemenite Shiite military movement serving as Iran’s proxy and at war with Saudi Arabia.
Is Iran threatening oil shipping ahead of the new US administration?
Is Iran threatening oil shipping ahead of the new US administration?
Attacks on Red Sea shipping are attributed to the Houthis. The so-called civilian “Savitz” may be the “mother-ship” providing intelligence and arms to the Iranian proxy group, but is likely being replaced by a new warship.
(December 17, 2020 / Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) On Dec. 14, a fuel tanker, the Singapore-flagged
BW Rhine, was hit with an explosion while unloading at the Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea. The resulting fire was extinguished, and the crewmen were rescued.