Four major international shipping firms have all announced that they are suspending sails through the Red Sea on account of an increased threat of attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebel forces.
“Major shipping companies are stopping transits through the Red Sea due to attacks from Yemen’s Houthis that have come in response to the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.
The Economist reported that Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have all paused or suspended services in the Red Sea. The Hong Kong-based container shipping line OOCL has announced it was suspending all shipments to and from Israel.
By avoiding the Suez Canal, vessels bound for the Mediterranean Sea will add thousands of nautical miles to their voyages by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa.
The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, have declared all commercial vessels that are heading to or from Israel will be targeted. Houthi officials have said the only way to ‘restore calm’ to the region is for a lasting ceasefire to be reached in Gaza.
Attacks continued over the weekend, with U.S. Central Command saying U.S. and British warships downed 15 drones earlier Saturday morning that were fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. The Houthis govern most of the territory that used to be the country of North Yemen before Yemen unified in 1990. The area is where 70-80% of Yemen’s population lives.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is headed to the region this week and is expected to announce the formation of a new international naval operation to respond to the Houthi attacks, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau, responded to the news and said the U.S. would be forming the ‘filthiest coalition in history’.
The U.S. is warning it could take military action against the Houthis and has threatened to kill a Yemen peace deal reached between Saudi Arabia and Ansar Allah”. -Dave DeCamp, Antiwar
Given that the U.S. military is expected to announce the start of a new naval operation in the Red Sea to respond to the Houthi attacks, it stands to reason that the Yemeni proxy force has been successful in its efforts to draw a significant number of American maritime vessels away from the Gazan front.