ARABIAN GULF (Dec. 5, 2023) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter attached to the “Dusty Dogs” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 7 escorts explosive ordnance disposal technicians to conduct helicopter rope suspension drills aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) in the Arabian Gulf, Dec. 5, 2023. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers)
The U.S.-led multinational sea control/protection of shipping operation formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, primarily in the Bab-el-Mandeb (also known as the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Tears, names that are more apt than ever before) saw a lot of movement in the past week.
This included Denmark promising to send a frigate— likely one of its trio of new Iver Huitfeldt class air defense ships– to the region to join the OPG convoy effort. Likewise, the Greeks are sending a frigate of their own, possibly a Hydra/MEKO-200HN class vessel with limited AAW capability. That these two countries are sending grey hulls is a no-brainer as Maersk is a Danish-owned shipping company and something like 20 percent of the shipping on earth is Greek-owned in one way or another. Meanwhile, cash-strapped OPG “partners” such as Canada and Australia have elected to only send a few staff officers to the safety of Bahrain.
Current missile-slingers on OPG include the British Type 45 frigate HMS Diamond (D34), the drone ace Burke USS Carney (DDG 64), the DESRON 22 destroyers USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS Mason (DDG 87), and USS Gravely (DDG-107) from the Eisenhower strike group; as well as airpower from Ike herself which is being closely screened by the old Tico USS Philippine Sea (CG 58).
And they have been very busy.
Dec. 23: Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to the destroyer. There were no injuries or damage in this incident. However, M/V Blaamaen, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi one-way attack drone with no injuries or damage reported while the M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported.
Dec. 26: Laboon and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, shot down twelve one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land attack cruise missiles in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis over 10 hours. The Liberian-flagged MSC United VIII was narrowly missed by incoming AShMs.
Dec. 28: Mason shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that was fired by the Houthis. There was no damage to any of the 18 ships in the area or reported injuries. “This is the 22nd attempted attack by Houthis on international shipping since Oct. 19,” reported CENTCOM.
Dec. 30. Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned/operated container ship Maersk Hangzhou was struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile, and when Gravely responded she splashed two more that were directed at her. In a follow-up attack the next day, four Houthi small boats bird dogged the wounded container ship and then fired crew-served and small arms weapons as close as 20m from the Danish vessel. Armed MH-60Rs from Ike and Gravely responded and sank three out of four boats, reportedly killing at least 10 Houthis.
Maersk is apparently running embarked private security teams to dissuade Yemeni helicopter and small boat teams from landing– the Maersk Hangzhou responded with small arms during the recent attacks on her. Others are taking to Automatic Identification System messages to wave a sort of “not it” white flag at the Houthi, who are apparently using such systems as an easy open-source intelligence for targeting.
And, as if the region couldn’t be any more tense, the 55-year-old Iranian Alvand-class corvette Alborz has entered the Red Sea.