Red Sea: Houthi attacks on merchant ships are now daily
Maritime security firms and U.S. officials report now-daily incidents of attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen, who continue to attack commercial vessels near major oil trade chokepoints in the Gulf.
Attacks on cargo ships or oil tankers near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory have become daily in recent weeks as Iran-aligned rebels have stepped up attacks since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October.
Strait of Bab al-Mandab
In the latest incidents on Friday, two Liberian-flagged ships were attacked in the Bab al-Mandab Strait by Yemen's Houthis, a U.S. defense official told Reuters . Drones and ballistic missiles were used in Friday's attacks, causing fires on ships but causing no injuries.
On Wednesday, the Houthis fired two missiles from territory they hold in Yemen, hitting – but missing – a commercial tanker near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that was carrying jet fuel from India and was headed for the Suez Canal across the Red Sea.
The intensification of attacks on commercial ships around Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has pushed up insurance premiums and led some shipowners to consider avoiding the Suez Canal route and making a long journey. longest around Africa.
Following the series of attacks on other ships in the area, Maersk fuel carriers will have the option of bypassing the Red Sea, potentially extending fuel journeys by thousands of miles.
Maersk said on Thursday that its fuel carriers can bypass the Red Sea to avoid potential dangers, according to company correspondence seen by Bloomberg. If carriers choose to bypass the Red Sea, they will also bypass the Suez Canal and add thousands of miles to their journeys, choosing to sail around Africa instead.
This will add days to the journey and burn “hundreds of tons more fuel,” according to Bloomberg. On the other hand, however, it could save on insurance costs which have increased since the Houthis intensified their attacks.
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The article Red Sea: Houthi attacks on merchant ships are now daily comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/mar-rosso-ormai-gli-attacchi-degli-houthi-ai-mercantili-sono-quotidiani/ on Sat, 16 Dec 2023 10:00:53 +0000.