Egypt Disavows Association with Cargo Ship Attacked by Houthis
Egyptian authorities issued statements disavowing any association with the small cargo ship Tihama that the Houthis attacked, killing six people. They called the reports of Egyptian ownership of the Tihama inaccurate and asserted that the ship is, in fact, owned by a Yemeni national.
While the cargo ship is registered in Tanzania, databases listed the managers and owner’s representative as Blue Sea For Management Marine, with an apartment address in Alexandria, Egypt. Egypt’s Ministry of Transport issued a statement denying Egyptian ownership and confirming that the company is not registered with the Egyptian Chamber of Shipping nor was it licensed to operate as a maritime agency by Egypt’s Maritime Transport and Logistics Sector.
They asserted that the ship is managed from Dubai and that the owner is a Yemeni national. They reported that the ship has never entered an Egyptian port, was not sailing to Egypt, and was not carrying cargo belonging to Egyptians.
Officials in Yemen had called the ship a “civilian ferry affiliated with a private company, officially licensed to operate maritime transport, and is used to ferry passengers and civilians between Aden, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra on round-trip routes.” They asserted it had in the past been used to provision Socotra Island with gas and to transport food and other supplies.
The Houthis took credit for the attack, asserting the ship was in fact used to carry Saudi military supplies. They said it was attacked as part of the ongoing campaign against Saudi military aggression. Reports indicate that the Houthis have attacked the government-controlled port of Al-Mocha for the last four days. A total of six people were killed, four crewmembers and two Coast Guard members, as well as 10 others injured in the attack on the vessel Tihama.
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Egypt’s Transport Minister also issued a statement condemning the attack and the targeting of ships in the Red Sea. The ministry warned that such attacks “constitute a serious threat to the security and safety of navigation in the Red Sea.”
The ship’s actual role in the conflict remains unclear, with the spokesperson for the Joint Forces in the Western region saying they too could attack ferries the Houthis were using to move military equipment but that they were protecting the civilians also aboard those vessels. Observers looking at the pictures of the ships noted that no military equipment was ever visible, and pictures showed the ship docked, with the Yemeni government saying it was out of service for engine repairs.
