According to a comprehensive report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Reuters, the world's largest shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and the third largest shipping company, CMA CGM Shipping, announced on the 16th local time that they would suspend sailing through the Red Sea straits due to the increased attack on merchant ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen. So far, four of the world's top five maritime companies have announced the suspension of operations in the region. According to shipping experts, the decision may affect the overall dynamics of the ** chain.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) cargo ship **BBC
On December 15, local time, two cargo ships of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the container ship "Alania" and the container ship "Paratyum 3", were attacked by the Houthis.
The U.S. Command said the USS Alania was hit by a drone, causing a fire, but it was eventually extinguished.
The report added that the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles in the second attack, one of which hit the "Paratyum-3", causing a fire.
In a statement, MSC said there were no reports of personnel**, but the ship suffered some damage and was forced to stop operations.
A number of shipping companies have announced the suspension of sailings, and shipping costs may increase.
On the 16th, the world's third largest shipping company, the French CMA CGM Group, also took similar measures. In a statement, the company said that "the situation is deteriorating further and concerns about safety are increasing". In addition, the company has instructed all of its container ships to "immediately arrive in safe areas and suspend navigation in safe waters until further notice".
So far, four of the world's top five maritime companies have announced the suspension of operations in the region.
Previously, Maersk, the world's second-largest shipping company, MaerskCO) called the situation "shocking" on the 15th and told the BBC reporter, "Following the near-accident at Maersk's Gibraltar branch yesterday (14th), another container ship was attacked today (15th)." We have instructed all Maersk vessels in the region heading to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to suspend sailing until further notice". The German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also issued a statement on the 15th saying that it would suspend the Red Sea route.
On December 15, local time, a spokesman for Yemen's Houthi armed forces said that they had taken military action against two container ships bound for Israel
Shipping expert Sue Terpilowski of the Royal Institute of Logistics and Transport said the decisions (suspending the Suez Canal route) would come at a high cost.
Speaking to the BBC, Tpilovski said, "It's about the crew, the ship itself and the insurance policy. If they get the insurance now, the premiums will go sky high. Therefore, this (suspension of the Red Sea route) will have a serious impact on inventory levels, costs and the overall dynamics of the ** chain. ”
The BBC reports that the increased costs of crew, fuel and insurance are likely to be passed on to consumers.
According to Reuters, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the most important shipping routes for the transportation of seaborne goods in the world, especially from the Gulf to the west through the Suez Canal or the Sumad Pipeline to the Mediterranean** and fuel, and to the east to Asia, including Russian oil, etc.
According to Reuters, the suspension of the Red Sea route could add tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs per trip.
However, there is also an argument that Houthi attacks have targeted only individual countries and have a relatively limited overall impact on international shipping. Walid Zahran, a professor of economics at Egypt's Arab Institute of Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, said the Houthis' main targets were Israeli merchant ships, not ships from other countries.
Yemen's Houthi rebels "strongly support" Hamas for attacking ships bound for Israel.
Since Hamas's attacks on many parts of Israel on 7 October, Israeli forces have carried out heavy bombardments and a total siege of the Gaza Strip, and recently launched a ground military operation. According to data provided by Palestine Gaza**, Israeli military operations have caused nearly 1 in Gaza so far90,000 deaths.
Yemen's Houthis are members of the Resistance Front. The group includes Iranian, Syrian, and Lebanese Allah, as well as any anti-Western or anti-Israel militia in the region, with the common goal of countering U.S. and Israeli influence in the Middle East. Since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, the Houthis have been attacking Israeli and U.S. military base targets.
Yemen's Houthi rebels announced on December 9 that any ship heading for Israel would become a "legitimate target" for the group's armed forces if food and medicine could not enter the Gaza Strip. The group warned that all ships and companies should avoid dealing with Israeli ports due to the safety of maritime navigation.
According to CNN, on December 16, local time, the U.S. ** Command said on the social platform "X" (formerly Twitter) that the U.S. destroyer USS Carney shot down 14 drones from Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea on the same day.
The U.S. military said the drones were assessed as being used for one-way attacks and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area and no injuries reported.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on the 16th that a British destroyer "Diamond" shot down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea. Shapps said the drone attempted to launch an attack on a merchant ship, but did not mention the drone's **.
Earlier this month, the USS Carney shot down at least three Houthi drones heading in the direction of the ship in the southern part of the Red Sea.
Last month, the U.S. Navy USS Thomas Hadner also shot down a number of drones launched from Yemen.
CCTV news client.
Yemen's Houthi "cross-border attacks" have heightened the risk of spillover.
According to the CCTV news client, in addition to attacking sea targets, Yemen's Houthis have also continuously launched long-range strikes inside Israel. On the 16th, the armed group claimed to have launched a "cross-border drone attack" against multiple targets in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
In addition, the US Embassy in Iraq was subjected to "two rounds of artillery attacks" on the 8th, and some shells fell into the area of the complex, but there were no people. On the same day, a total of five attacks were carried out on a number of US military bases in Iraq and Syria.
Ahmed Rafiq Awad, a professor at Al-Quds University in Palestine, noted that armed groups in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq are becoming increasingly involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The Houthi attack on merchant ships in the Red Sea has raised concerns in the United States and other Western countries, and Israel's intention to join forces with other countries to cruise the Red Sea, raising the risk of conflict spillover. ”
In Pinko's view, as the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip continues to expand, the situation in the Red Sea will continue to be tense, and the involvement of the US forces may also increase.
According to an article in the Financial Times, the most dangerous scenario would be the outbreak of a full-scale war in the region, involving both the countries of the region and the United States. The Russian Sputnik news agency said on the 17th that the Pentagon is considering cracking down on the Houthis, raising concerns that the risk of an expansion of the war is rising.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer.com, and it is not allowed to be unauthorized and shall not be allowed.