Seventy percent of cargo ships are now steering clear of the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks.
As Houthi militants intensify their attacks on vessels in the region, shipping traffic through the Red Sea has “plummeted”.
The CEO of one of the largest shipping companies in the world has stated that the disruption is likely to persist for several months, despite the fact that American-led airstrikes have not really succeeded in stopping it.
Speaking at the Reuters Global Markets Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc stated, “So for us, this will mean longer transit times and probably disruptions of the supply chain for a few months at least— hopefully shorter, but it could also be longer because it’s so unpredictable how this situation is actually developing.”
Last fall, well-funded and equipped Houthi militants started attacking cargo ships that were headed for Israel. Deep financial and logistical ties exist between the militant group and Iran.
The group published a video in November showing armed men in the southern Red Sea capturing a Japanese cargo ship with a helicopter.
That was only a few days after the Houthi group, which is still engaged in a protracted civil war with the Yemeni government, issued a warning. Over the image of an Israeli commercial vessel in flames, the Houthis wrote in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, “We will sink your ships.”
In an attempt to stop the unrest, the United States launched airstrikes against targets all over Yemen on January 11. Since then, attacks on ships in the Red Sea have occurred almost every day.
Since then, international shipping firms have avoided the area in favor of longer, more costly routes to deliver their cargo.
