The United Nations Security Council has agreed to continue monthly monitoring of ship attacks in the Red Sea, a decision that led Russia to criticise the United States and question why similar attention is not being given to incidents in the Caribbean.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the 15-member council asked UN Secretary-General António Guterres to keep providing monthly reports on any further attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi group for another six months.

The monitoring has been in place for the past two years.

During the discussion, Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva said the council should consider focusing on attacks against commercial shipping in the Caribbean instead of the Red Sea.

Since September, the United States has carried out around 20 strikes against vessels it has described as being linked to drug trafficking off the Venezuelan coast.

These strikes have killed more than 80 people. During the same period, the U.S. has seized five oil tankers as part of efforts to limit Venezuelan oil exports.

However, Deputy U.S. Ambassador Jennifer Locetta said the resolution reinforced the Security Council’s responsibility to remain alert to the Houthi threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and nearby waterways.

She also stressed that protecting maritime navigation is an important part of maintaining international peace and security.

The Security Council first took action in January 2024 after Houthi attacks disrupted shipping in the Red Sea.

The attacks led several shipping companies to reroute vessels, raising concerns about possible increases in energy and food prices.

The Houthis had earlier said they were targeting ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports in support of Hamas during the war in Gaza.

However, many of the ships attacked were later found to have no connection to Israel. No attacks have been reported in recent months.

Despite the recent pause in incidents, the Security Council decided to continue monitoring the situation.

Reference: Reuters