Following several attacks on merchant ships by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, 18 logistics companies are avoiding the Red Sea route, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). There are a “significant number of companies” that have already decided to reroute their ships around South Africa, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told the UN Security Council in New York today.
The goal is to “reduce attacks on ships and, of course, the impact that this has on sailors in particular,” Domiguez said.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from passing to Israel. The Red Sea is considered one of the most important maritime routes for world trade because it connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal in Egypt.
Twelve countries call for an end to the attack
The attacks constituted a “significant international problem”, the governments of 12 countries, including Germany and the United States, complained today in a joint statement. Almost 15 percent of international maritime trade uses the Red Sea as a shipping route; the route is important for trade in cereals, crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
Diversion through the Cape of Good Hope would increase the cost and delay the delivery of goods – ultimately putting the movement of essential food, fuel and humanitarian aid around the world at risk. If the Houthi rebels do not immediately end the attacks and instead continue to threaten lives, the global economy and the free movement of goods will be responsible for the consequences, he said.