UK Navy chief warns Houthi sea mines a danger to maritime trade

Admiral Sir Phillip Jones said Houthi rebels were using unconventional warfare

A drone boat captured from Yemen's Houthi rebels that was once loaded with explosives. The rebels have used such boats and mines against shipping in the Red Sea. AP

The decision by Houthi rebels to deploy mines and improvised weaponry in the Red Sea area risks severely damaging the global maritime trade, the UK’s Navy chief has warned.

Admiral Sir Phillip Jones said the Houthi’s “complex” and sometimes unconventional tactics would only exacerbate tensions and hinder chances of peace in Yemen.

“The use of sea mines and other potentially lethal weapons adjacent to such a pivotal maritime choke point adds further tension that could only destabilise what is already a long-running and damaging four-year conflict,” he told an audience at London’s Royal United Services Institute.

Such strategy could have “very significant repercussions for global maritime trade,” Admiral Jones added.

He was laying out the evolving threats and changes faced in naval warfare and used the Yemen conflict as an example. Speaking generally beforehand, Admiral Jones said the "rules" that governed the international system and kept it away from conflict were being eroded.

“In the southern Red Sea we are now seeing increasingly complex physical and manifestations of maritime power by the Houthi rebels in the way they target Saudi-led coalition forces at sea," said the Admiral.

“Their increased use of practical but unconventional technology such as remote controlled and autonomous surface craft is a particular concern to global mariners,” he added.

Houthi control of a large chunk of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline has led to fears the region is littered with unexploded ordinance. While they have withdrawn from the city of Hodeidah, the Houthis on Tuesday claimed a drone-attack on Saudi Arabian oil installations.