London, Mar. 21, (dpa/GNA) – The number of maritime incidents in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has risen by 475% since the Yemeni Houthi attacks on merchant ships began, according to British figures.

Instead of one incident every two or three weeks due to piracy, there are now six to seven incidents per day, Lieutenant Commander Jo Black of the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) situation centre told the British news agency PA on Wednesday.

He described the situation since November 18 as an “unprecedented development.”

Since a peak period of piracy between 2008 and 2012, the region had been relatively quiet – until the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden, the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

One ship has been sunk in the attacks and several crew members have been killed.

“So it’s a really dangerous situation out there,” Black said. The attacks were not expected and were “complex and unusual threats” involving missiles, drones or small boats.

The Houthi militia says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas and is directing its attacks off the Yemeni coast against freighters with an alleged Israeli connection.

One of the most important shipping routes for world trade runs along Yemen, through which freighters from the Indian Ocean reach the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. In response to the attacks, the US and the UK have carried out several military strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.

The EU has also launched a military operation to protect merchant shipping in the Red Sea.

Recently, some pirate attacks from Somalia have also been recorded, said Black. However, it is still too early to say whether piracy will continue to increase.

GNA