Hostile Fast Boat Closes in on Cargo Ship, Explodes in Fireball as Security Forces Open Fire
A fast-paced video from the high seas shows security forces on a cargo ship scrambling to meet a deadly threat with rifle fire, eventually ending the danger with an explosive well-placed shot.
The undated video first popped up Monday on social media sites.
Filmed from atop a cargo vessel, it begins with the fast boat rapidly closing the distance.
The small boat soon swings toward the commercial ship and cuts a path directly for the side. Men on the larger vessel can be heard just out of frame readying weapons and other gear.
Soon, security forces open fire.
Small plumes in the water around the incoming boat show the first volley of shots misses the threat entirely.
Eventually, however, a well-placed shot hits the smaller vessel, sparking an explosion and a gigantic fireball.
“As it should be, without mercy on bandits and criminals,” a message accompanying the video post on X reads in Spanish.
Como debe ser, sin clemencia con los bandidos y criminales …. Piratas 🏴☠️ tratando de abordar barcos 🚢…. !!! pic.twitter.com/6gZlksymNj
— Roman Pinto 🇻🇪🇺🇸 (@roman__pinto) July 22, 2024
The post on Monday erroneously labeled the small boat as possibly belonging to pirates, but more recent updates have identified the explosives-laden vessel as an unmanned kamikaze boat launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
“[Brazil to Ukraine] crew of a container ship sailing through the Red Sea destroyed a Houthi one-way attack USV by rifle fire,” the maritime news account Navy Lookout wrote Tuesday on X.
The Houthi rebels, an Iranian-backed force causing chaos in Yemen and the surrounding Red Sea, have turned the vital sea lane into a shooting gallery in recent months.
Last month, video emerged of another Kamikaze attack in the Red Sea. Armed guards seen in a video of the incident failed to react to the incoming threat, and their ship, the Greek-flagged Tutor, began quickly taking on water after a vicious explosion at the hull.
The vessel was soon abandoned.
Kamikaze attacks are not the only weapon in the Houthi toolbelt.
In February, the Belize-flagged cargo ship Rubymar was struck by a ballistic missile and sent drifting in the sea.
By early March, the ship had taken on so much water it sank into the Red Sea.
The Houthi rebels began terrorizing the Red Sea supposedly in support of Gaza and to antagonize Israel and its partners around the world. Realistically, the attacks appear to be an attempt by Iran and its proxies to spread influence and weaken global adversaries.
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