American warnings to ships to turn off their AIS devices to avoid being attacked by the Houthis
The US Army launched new air strikes against military sites and targets belonging to the Houthi militias, as part of the deterrence efforts implemented by the Army to protect international shipping lines in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
According to a statement by the US Central Command, on Monday, March 18, the command forces succeeded in identifying and destroying 7 anti-ship missiles, 3 drones, and 3 weapons storage containers in areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen. He explained that the strikes carried out were in self-defense, and that the targeted weapons represented an imminent threat to commercial ships and US Navy ships in the region.
According to media sources, American and British aircraft carried out about 10 air strikes targeting a number of sites under their control. Pointing out that 6 raids targeted the Al-Jabbana area, west of the city of Hodeidah. There is a Houthi air defense camp in the area. The American raids also targeted Houthi sites in the Al-Faza area in Al-Tuhayta District.
The strikes came hours after the Houthi militias launched a missile attack, the second of its kind, against a natural gas tanker that was traveling in international waters in the Gulf of Aden, 85 nautical miles away.
The continuation of the Houthi attacks prompted the US Maritime Administration to issue warnings to ships flying the American flag to turn off their transmitters and receivers when crossing the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, in order to obstruct determining their locations and avoid being attacked by the Houthis.
It said in its statement: “US-flagged commercial ships transiting the southern Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, and equipped with AIS transceivers, are at increased risk of attack from hostile parties; we strongly advise U.S.-flagged commercial ships to... Operating in these areas turn off AIS transmitters and receivers in order to prevent the ship from being exposed to danger.”
The statement explained that turning off the transmitters and receivers hinders the ability to accurately track and target the ship.
