The U.S.¡¯s new international naval coalition will serve as a ¡°highway patrol¡± to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants even though it won¡¯t escort individual vessels, a Pentagon spokesman said.
The force, announced Monday, will patrol ¡°the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to and assist as necessary commercial vessels,¡± Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a phone interview Friday. He said he didn¡¯t want to understate the challenge but said the effort will be enough to ¡°reassure global shipping and mariners that they can safely transit the Red Sea area.¡±
The world¡¯s major container and oil shippers announced they would route their vessels away from the Red Sea after a series of attacks by Houthi militias in the weeks since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel responded with punishing airstrikes. The Houthi attacks roiled shipping markets and helped push up oil prices.
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