“Armed guards on board.”
“No connection to Israel.”
These are just two of the messages sent by cargo ships passing through the Red Sea in an attempt to deter a group of rebellious pirates from trying to board the ship.
The Houthis in Yemen oppose American and Israeli influence in the Middle East. To show their support for Hamas, they targeted commercial cargo ships traveling through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
the Dramatic hijacking of a cargo ship November 19 was one of the most important attacks Men are seen dancing on the upper deck of the Galaxy Leader After they used the helicopter to seize it.
As a result, many shipping companies have suspended sailings through the Red Sea, instead rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope – a journey that takes on average 10 days longer and costs around £1.6 million.
Photo: Steve Hall
But for ships still traveling through the region, messages are written where the ship normally lists its destination, making the messages visible via maritime tracking websites.
Instead of a final port, ships display notes stating that they are all Chinese crewed, or in several cases, announcing the presence of armed forces.
Among them is the Pacific Merit, owned by China Merchants Energy Shipping Company and operated by Sinotrans Ship Management, based in Hong Kong.
After leaving the Texas International Port on December 23, it traveled through the Suez Canal en route to Port Said, in the eastern Mediterranean.
When it entered the Gulf of Suez, at 2.48pm on January 16, it updated its destination to read “No Israeli link.” It then turned off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) shortly before entering the Red Sea.
Christopher Barry, a former naval admiral and maritime risk expert, said this was often seen during hijackings by Somali pirates, or when ships were carrying dangerous goods.
“It's just an information field that you're allowed to put things in, but they use it to give additional reasons for it [the Houthis] “Not to attack them,” Barry explained.
Ultimately, he added, this may not be much of a deterrent, although “the Houthis and Iranians are using automated GPS targeting.”
Number of incidents that occurred in the Red Sea since November 19, 2023
He added: “I think they did this in the beginning when they were able to identify anything Israeli from a distance, but recently they have been hitting almost anything.” “This is due to inefficiency.”
Explainer: How the Red Sea became a battleground – and what it means for UK shoppers
Analysis: How the US and UK launched the first Houthi strikes
Photo: Maicon Logistics
Ships that have updated their destinations
Sky News was unable to verify exactly how many ships used this type of message, but in the past 10 days, at least 50 ships changed their destinations to deny links to Israel or highlight armed guards on board.
The beauty of the sea
The crude oil tanker, Sea Beauty, originally listed its destination as Singapore, but at 11.26pm on January 13, this was changed to “Arm Guard onboard”.
It also turned off its AIS tracking while traveling through the Red Sea.
Cooper Market
Traveling in reverse around the world, Market Copper departed from the Chinese port of Lanshan on Christmas Eve. After going around Malaysia and Sri Lanka, at 2.56pm on 13 January, she upgraded her destination from Suez to “Armed Guard on Board”. It is difficult to determine exactly when this happened, because the ship also turned off its tracking system.
Carolyn Bezenje
The ship Caroline Besinge was heading towards the Indian port of Visakhapatnam – after leaving Finland, sailing around Europe and across the English Channel – when it changed course to read “No contact with Israel” at 8am on January 17. It changed to display this message as soon as it entered the Red Sea.
Will it act as a deterrent?
The AIS transmits the ship's position so others know where it is. The International Maritime Organization requires large ships to publish their position and heading to avoid collisions.
Decommissioning the entire AIS system is not unprecedented, said Graham Shaw, sea captain and co-owner of MUSC – a company that provides marine risk services and consulting in some of the world's most volatile locations.
The alternative route is around the coast of Africa
“It's definitely one of the first things I think about,” he told Sky News. “Ships do this especially when they are involved in the dark side of transport operations at sea.”
the Data and forensics The team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We collect, analyze, and visualize data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite imagery, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to explain the world better while also showing how our journalism works.
