An American ship flying the Greek flag stands in the port of Aden after being attacked by the Houthi group in the Red Sea (French)

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) government, Misfer Al-Numair, announced that submarine cable ships must obtain a permit from the Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni territorial waters.

Al-Numair's statements came in the wake of Hong Kong-based HGC International Communications Company's announcement yesterday, Monday, that at least 4 underwater communications cables were damaged last week in the Red Sea, without mentioning the reason.

The company estimated that the damage affected 25% of the data traffic flowing under the Red Sea, and said in a statement that it had developed a plan to transfer data via other lines.

Last Saturday, the Houthi group held the American and British attacks responsible for any damage to the cables.

Al-Masirah TV quoted Al-Numair as saying, “Marine cable ships must obtain a permit from the Maritime Affairs in Sana’a before entering Yemeni territorial waters.”

The channel added, quoting Al-Numair, “The Ministry of Communications is ready to help fulfill requests for permits and identification of ships with the Yemeni naval forces, and we confirm this out of concern for their safety.”

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Houthi government denied the validity of the "allegations promoted by Western media regarding the causes of what happened to a number of international submarine cables in the Red Sea" on February 24.

The Ministry indicated that Yemen's decision to prevent the passage of Israeli ships does not concern ships belonging to international companies licensed to carry out marine cable work in Yemeni waters.

In all of the ministry’s statements, we emphasized that submarine cable ships must first obtain a permit from the Maritime Affairs in Sana’a before entering Yemeni territorial waters. We at Yemeni Communications are ready to help meet their requests for a permit and introducing the ships to the Yemeni naval forces,


and we confirm this out of concern for their safety.

- M.

Mosfer Abdullah Al-Numair (@AlnomeirMosfer) March 4, 2024

Since last November, the Houthis have continued their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and the group says that they are targeting “Israeli ships linked to Israel or those heading to it,” in order to “support the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

With the intervention of Washington and London and the tensions taking a noticeable escalation last January, the Houthi group announced that it now considered all American and British ships among its military targets.

The almost daily attacks have forced companies to switch to a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

The scope of the territorial waters affected by the Houthi decision extends halfway to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is 20 kilometers wide, and is the entrance to the Red Sea through which about 15% of global shipping traffic passes back and forth from the Suez Canal.

American attacks

In a related context, US Central Command reported that the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Gulf of Aden, and another anti-ship ballistic missile in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthi group announced yesterday evening, Monday, that the United States and Britain launched 3 raids on Saada Governorate in northern Yemen.

Al-Masirah TV said, “The American-British aggression targeted the Yasnam area in Baqim District in Saada Governorate with three raids.” The channel did not explain the results of the attack.

Source: Agencies