- [Narrator] Drone attacks, hijackings, and sinkings. Houthi rebels have turned one of the world's most critical trade routes into a zone of terror. (man speaks foreign language)
(suspenseful music) - [Narrator] Thousands of miles away, distress calls

from targeted vessels — [Woman] We were attacked by two missiles. — are routed here to the UK Navy's 911 service for shipping, which has seen an eightfold increase in incidents year on year.  We're a team of civilians at the center of efforts

to keep the world's cargo ships safe from attacks. - I think the only ones that have never spoken to us are the North Koreans. - [Narrator] The Royal Navy unit covers this zone, spanning parts of the Red Sea,

Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea; an area critical for the flow of trade between East and West. In the past year, Houthi rebels have struck over a hundred ships traveling through the narrow Bab-el Mandeb Strait,

the gateway to around $1 trillion in goods annually. - The Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group, have been basically attacking vessels.  The Houthis started to retaliate over the war in Gaza, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

- We were now looking at a sudden, overnight escalation from maybe one or two incidents in that area every two to three months to eight incidents a day. Multiple vessels involved, multiple nationalities, multiple threats. (man speaks foreign language)
(wind blows)

- [Narrator] While many ships are rerouting, using the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope, defending those that continue through the strait is a huge challenge. The cost is enormous, and there has been no solution yet.

For the US, it's more than $1 billion just in the first few months in the cost of retaliating and stopping these attacks. - [Narrator] US warships are escorting vessels in a bid to protect the shipping lane as part of a wider containment strategy.

This also involves striking Houthi weapons launch points and storage facilities. But those stocks keep being replenished. - Every time the Houthis are hit, their launch points and arsenals are hit, they get more from Iran, typically,

either missiles or drones. - These smuggling routes mean the Houthi strikes on vessels are continuing. In this video released by the Houthis, the Sounion crude oil tanker is seen under attack. The UK MTO received a distress call

from the master of the vessel, or person in charge, as the armed militants approached. - To be boarded by the bad guys, and they set explosions off and it literally, we were trying to glean the information. "Was it true?" outside agencies said,

"Have you had any reports?" We try to get as much information from the master because, to a lot of masters, we are the first point of contact. We are, some people think, an emergency service. We haven't got the assets, but we know

The people with the assets. The team worked very hard to manage that information, to triage it and assess it, and then disseminate it very quickly.

But attempts to locate vessels in distress can be complicated by the vessel's own attempts to stay safe. Automatic Identification Systems, or AIS, are radio signals that help ships avoid collisions. But to try and dodge attacks, they're often switched off while transiting in this dangerous waterway.

That made attempts to locate the Rubymar, a cargo ship hit by the Houthis, even more difficult. The ship, carrying 22,000 metric tons of fertilizer, started to sink after the attack.  She was slowly taking on water. Her AIS was switched off.

We were asking masters, as they were tracking through, if they could give us a position for her. After, I think, several weeks, she finally did vanish.

Despite efforts by the US and its allies to target Houthi infrastructure, the UK MTO has received and handled over 86% more calls year on year.  For annual hackers for us to share this information with our coalition forces. So, is that correct?

And has ramped up its exercises in order to remain alert. They're Filipino. And what flag is it? It's Antigua and Barbuda. So it's been pretty efficient from the Houthi side. They've been very—they've suffered very little damage.

from the US, UK, and Israel in terms of the deep impact. Their leadership is still alive. The arsenal is being refurbished by Iran continuously, with continuous flows coming through for smuggling. So that combination means they're able to continuously attack shipping.

There's also been a supply of satellite coordinates that initially came from Russia. - [Narrator] This data allowed the Houthis to more accurately target vessels. The Russia-Houthi cooperation has also deepened ties between groups Washington sees as its adversaries.

How long the Houthis will continue to bombard the waterway remains in question. - Their official assessment is that until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, they won't stop. The Western intelligence sources I speak to don't believe that.

They think that they're kind of on a high. They've never been as visible and as popular. They used to be a very small faction. They want to keep the momentum going. - [Narrator] In addition to targets in the Red Sea,

the Houthis have also launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel. Tel Aviv has responded by targeting energy infrastructure inside Yemen. Some analysts believe ending the Houthis' reign of terror will require more than just military action, including both economic and diplomatic solutions.

Until that happens, UK MTO will remain on the forefront of the fight to save lives. - The people who make up UK MTO, who are answering the phones, are here because the safety of mariners at sea really does matter to them.

The ‘9-1-1’ Unit Responding to Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Shipping | WSJ

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The ‘9-1-1’ Unit Responding to Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Shipping | WSJ

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