Commodities trader Trafigura said on Saturday it was assessing the security risks of further Red Sea voyages after firefighters put out a blaze on a tanker attacked by Yemen's Houthi group a day earlier.
The tanker was carrying Russian naphtha purchased below the price cap in line with G7 sanctions, a Trafigura spokesperson said on Friday.
"No further vessels operating on behalf of Trafigura are currently transiting the Gulf of Aden, and we continue to assess carefully the risks involved in any voyage, including in respect of security and safety of the crew, together with shipowners and customers," a Trafigura statement said.
This implies a potential consideration of navigating through the Cape of Good Hope.
Some shipping companies have suspended transits through the Red Sea, which is accessed from the Gulf of Aden, and taken much longer, costlier journeys around Africa to avoid being attacked by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi group.
QatarEnergy, the world's second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea earlier this month, citing security concerns.
Over several hours early on Saturday the Marlin Luanda's crew battled a blaze in one cargo tank on the vessel's starboard side. By Saturday afternoon, the blaze was extinguished and all crew were safe.
"The vessel is now sailing towards a safe harbor," Trafigura said, adding that the firefighting effort had been supported by Indian, US, and French navy vessels.
The US military said a US Navy ship and other vessels provided assistance after the Marlin Luanda was hit by a Houthi anti-ship missile.
The Houthis began launching waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels on Nov. 19 in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. The Houthi attacks have primarily targeted container vessels moving through the Red Sea. Many fuel tankers have kept using the route.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Marlin Luanda issued a distress call on Friday and reported damage, US Central Command said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The USS Carney and other coalition ships were providing assistance to the tanker, it said.
This follows reports from companies such as Kuwaiti oil majors BP and Shell that have paused transits through the Red Sea as strikes on commercial vessels by the Houthis have stymied trade between Europe and Asia.
Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization Arsenio Dominguez has stressed that the IMO supports freedom of navigation and calls for calm in the Red Sea region.
During his meeting with Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Admiral Ossama Rabie on Thursday, the IMO secretary-general explained that the current situation in the Red Sea region imposes many challenges on the global trade movement, the maritime transport market, the Suez Canal, and the ports in the region.
He affirmed that navigation in the canal is still open to everyone “especially in light of the logistical and security challenges faced by the vessels that go around the Cape of Good Hope,” noting that the “Cape route is deemed unsustainable for navigation traffic as it lacks essential services.”
