All company vessels in the area that have to pass through the Bab el Mandab strait are to stop moving.
Shipping companies Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have announced the suspension of operations in the Red Sea due to increased attacks on merchant vessels.
Maersk said it had instructed its vessels bound for the Red Sea to stop. The German Hapag-Lloyd made a similar statement.
"Following another attack on a container ship, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area, which must pass through the Bab el Mandab Strait, to suspend traffic until further notice," Maersk explained.
Maersk added that crew safety is a priority, stressing that a balance must be found between the needs of customers and the duty of care to staff. At the same time, a safer route around Africa will cause additional costs for companies - due to increased fuel costs and longer delivery times.
According to a statement from the container carrier CMA CGM, the vessels were ordered to stop moving towards the Red Sea, go to safe places and wait for further instructions. The company expressed concern about attacks on ships in the region.
According to the Director General of the US Export and Trade Institute Marco Forgione, about 12% of world trade depends on the Suez Canal and 5% on the Panama Canal. As Houthi attacks increase, risks to the shipping industry increase and insurance costs rise.
Bab-el-Mandab is a strait connecting the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea. All ships using the Suez Canal as a shortcut between Asia and Europe must pass through it.
It will be recalled that TTS wrote that transport companies began to redirect ships from the Middle Eastern region against the backdrop of more frequent attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some companies try not to send ships to the region at all, opting instead to go around Africa, which increases travel time by about two weeks and increases the amount of harmful emissions.
Risks to shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which about 10% of the world's seaborne oil flows, have increased amid Israel's war with Hamas. Yemen's Houthis have expressed their support for the Palestinians and are attacking ships in the strait.
In particular, on December 12, the Norwegian-flagged tanker Strinda was attacked by a missile off the coast of Yemen, and on December 15, the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Al Jasrah caught fire in the Red Sea after being hit by a projectile fired from rebel-controlled Yemen.