World’s Top Shipping Companies Say Won’t Send Vessels Back to Red Sea

The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks in the Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza fails (EPA) 
The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks in the Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza fails (EPA) 
TT
20

World’s Top Shipping Companies Say Won’t Send Vessels Back to Red Sea

The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks in the Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza fails (EPA) 
The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks in the Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza fails (EPA) 

Despite a Houthi pledge not to attack ships in the Red Sea as long as a ceasefire in Gaza holds, big shipping companies said they won’t send vessels back to the area, given the unpredictable situation in Gaza and tensions in the Middle East.

The day after a ceasefire was declared in Gaza, the Houthi militant group said they will only attack Israeli-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.

But, despite those pledges, “The world’s top three container shippers, MSC Mediterranean Shipping, A.P. Moller-Maersk and CMA CGM, in recent days said they would stick with other routes given what they called the unpredictable situation in Gaza and broader tensions in the Middle East,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

Nils Haupt, spokesman for Germany's biggest shipper, Hapag-Lloyd, said, “You don't want to send a gas carrier that will go up in flames. We don't know when we will be returning.”

The Houthis declared their commitment to stop attacks in the Red Sea after a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. But they vowed to strike ships if Israel continues its military operations in the West Bank.

The Iranian-backed militants, who control swathes of Yemen, have used an array of sophisticated weapons - including ballistic missiles and drones - in their 14-month attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

Ships were forced to divert to routes around Africa’s southern Cape of Good Hope.

The Sanaa-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOOC) which liaises between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators and is associated with the Houthi military, said it was stopping “sanction” against vessels owned by US or British individuals or entities, as well as ships sailing under their flags.

In an email sent to shipping industry officials dated Jan. 19, HOOC said, “We affirm that, in the event of any aggression against Yemen by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, or the usurping Israeli entity, the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor.”

Last week, Dubai-owned ports and logistics firm DP World expected ships not linked to Israel to begin returning to the Red Sea in as little as two weeks.

Sea freight prices could drop “at least 20%, 25%” and that could happen over two to three months, DP World's deputy chief executive Yuvraj Narayan told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting taking place in Davos, Switzerland.

Last Wednesday, Houthis released 25 crew members from the Galaxy Leader car carrier seized in November 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Lebanon's President Tells US Senior Official Israeli Occupation in Remaining Points Must End

Israeli soldiers stand near to a tank near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
Israeli soldiers stand near to a tank near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
TT
20

Lebanon's President Tells US Senior Official Israeli Occupation in Remaining Points Must End

Israeli soldiers stand near to a tank near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
Israeli soldiers stand near to a tank near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday told US national security adviser Mike Waltz that it is necessary to end the Israeli occupation in the remaining points and complete the implementation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Israeli troops withdrew on Tuesday from most of south Lebanon but Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would temporarily remain in five points needed for its security, Reuters reported.

The Lebanese presidency said that Lebanon would consider any remaining Israeli presence on Lebanese land an occupation.

Israel had been due to withdraw by January 26, but this was extended to February 18 after it accused Lebanon of failing to enforce the terms. Lebanon at the time accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal.