In what seemed like a hands-off approach Russian ships sailed freely through Red Sea waters while others faced attacks‚ but theres more to this story. Recent findings show Moscow actively shares ship-tracking data with Yemen-based militants
The situation started about a year ago when militants began targeting ships with supposed Israel connections; later expanding their focus to Western vessels. These attacks (helped by Iran-made weapons) caused major problems for global trade routes
- Ships now taking longer routes around Africa
- Travel time increased by 10-12 days
- Costs up by half
- Monthly Suez traffic down from 2‚396 to 1‚111 vessels
Targeting covers a wide range of complexity; hitting mobile ships needs high-grade real-time data from different sources
Nils Christian Wang‚ ex-Danish Navy chief points out: “The militants attacks fit with Moscows aim to shift attention from Ukraine - its almost like following a script“ Maritime experts note that hitting moving targets at sea needs special tech which militants dont have; thats where Russian help comes in
The sharing of targeting info marks a big change in sea warfare rules. While Western ships try hiding their positions by turning off tracking systems Russian data helps militants find them anyway. This creates problems for both merchant vessels and naval escorts trying to keep Red Sea routes safe
A UK tech firm found proof of hidden Russian activity in militant-controlled areas showing deeper connections than previously known. Whats more concerning is that this could set an example for other countries to share military info with various groups around the world
The Red Sea - one of trades oldest routes faces an uncertain future. With Russian help making attacks more precise fewer shipping companies risk using this path‚ forcing them to pick longer costlier routes instead