Red Sea crisis

Oil products tanker Sounion reported being attacked by two small boats and struck by three projectiles in the Red Sea off Yemen on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

There were no casualties reported among the 25 crew members onboard, but the Greek-flagged vessel has lost the ability to manoeuvre, UKMTO added.

The number of containers traveling through the port of Piraeus continued to decline in July as a result of the unstable situation in the Red Sea, where the Houthis of Yemen continue to attack merchant shipping.

Israeli airstrikes on the port of Al Hudaydah in Yemen in July appear to have been a disproportionate and indiscriminate attack against civilians, which could amount to a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

On July 20th, Israel announced that its warplanes had struck Houthi military targets near Al Hudaydah.

Greek-owned crude oil tanker Delta Blue has reported four attacks off Yemen's port of Mokha during the last 24 hours, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Friday, and the vessel's manager said the ship and its crew were safe.

The Greek frigate Psara provided protection to a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden early Sunday morning following a drone attack.

During the European operation Aspides in the Red Sea, the frigate successfully intercepted a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using its antidrone system. At least one drone was shot down, and the others were driven away.

Greek naval officers have taken valuable lessons from their experience in the European operation Aspides in the Red Sea in dealing with unmanned aerial threats. To date, Greek vessels have downed three Houthi UAVs. One of these was brought down by the homegrown Centaur anti-drone system, developed by the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and installed on the Psara frigate. 

A video published on Monday shows the downing of a Houthi drone by the Psara frigate in the Red Sea on Sunday.

The video was taken by the Dutch frigate Karel Doorman and was published by the Dutch Ministry of Defense. It shows the Houti drone flying close to the sea surface, before eventually crashing. It is not clear if it was hit by Psara's gun or its anti-drone jamming system. 

The homegrown Centaur anti-drone system, installed on the Psara frigate and developed by the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAV), proved its worth on Sunday by playing a key role in downing two Houthi drones targeting a commercial ship.

The Greek frigate Psara thwarted a Houthi drone attack on Sunday morning against a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden. 

Defense Minister Nikos Dendias (right) and the high representative of the EU for foreign policy and security policy, Josep Borrell, make statements during their visit to the Greek headquarters of the European Operation Aspides in Larissa on Friday.