Claiming to have besieged Israel and caused economic losses through their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the Houthis in Yemen are asserting a significant impact on the nation’s economy.
The repercussions of these assaults are now being felt, further complicating the economic challenges facing Yemen.
The nation is already grappling with the most extensive humanitarian crisis in modern history, and these attacks further exacerbate the suffering of Yemenis.
The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea pose a threat to international and regional peace efforts in Yemen, jeopardizing the closest opportunities to resolve the nine-year-long conflict.
This comes in the wake of the roadmap announced by the UN envoy over a week ago, aiming to end the humanitarian crisis, pay public sector salaries, and resume oil exports.
In response, several global shipping companies have opted to alter the routes of their vessels since the beginning of the current month, seeking to avoid passage through the Red Sea.
Some companies, however, returned to navigate in the region, relying on military protection led by the US and its allies in Red Sea waters.
Since mid-December, more than 15 major global shipping companies and giant oil firms have announced the suspension of their maritime activities in the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have prompted the British magazine “The Economist” to assert that these assaults pose a threat of famine to Yemen, not Israel.
The attacks are claimed by Houthis as a reaction to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
The suspension of international shipping companies to Yemen or the alteration of their routes passing through its ports will inflict significant damage on the Yemeni economy, emphasized economic researcher Rashid Al-Ansi.
This damage manifests in the halt of port activities, a scarcity of imports, particularly since Yemen relies heavily on maritime ports for the majority of its essential goods.
“This situation will exacerbate the plight of the population,” Al-Ansi told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Al-Ansi explained that international shipping companies plan routes and navigation lines for their vessels over extended periods, often exceeding a year.
Restarting maritime routes passing through Yemen in the event of a cessation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea would prove challenging, implying that the impact of these assaults on the population will likely endure longer than anticipated.
