Oil tycoon BP has halted shipments in the Red Sea, as Houthi rebels mount increasingly violent attacks against Israeli-linked ships.
Yemen’s Houthi militants said in November that they would target any tankers linked to Israel in order to support Hamas in its ongoing war against the Jewish state.
“Israeli ships are legitimate targets for us anywhere… and we will not hesitate to take action,” a Houthi military official said last month, when rebels seized a cargo ship in the Red Sea that had loose connections to Israel.
The Houthis, who like Hamas are backed by Iran, have said that maritime attacks won’t stop until Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip ends. BP is the latest company to pause shipments through the Red Sea as a result of the “deteriorating security situation.”
“We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region,” BP said in a statement.
French shipping company CMA CGM Group and shipping carriers MSC and Hapag-Lloyd also paused Red Sea shipments, as did the Danish shipping giant Maersk on Friday after Houthis launched a missile attack on a Liberian cargo ship.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the (Red Sea) until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” Houthi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said after Friday’s attack.
Mohammed Abdel-Salam, another Houthi spokesman, said that rebels would attack shipments “until the aggression stops,” referring to Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas in Gaza. Humanitarian aid, food, and medicine delivered into Gaza, he added, “would contribute to reducing the [Houthi] escalation.”
British and American navies shot down 15 Houthi missiles this weekend; on Saturday, the U.S. navy shot down 14 attack drones over the Red Sea, and the British navy destroyed another drone that targeted commercial vessels. In October, a U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted three of the rebels’ Israel-directed missiles. Maritime Houthi attacks “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said.
Some shipments will be rerouted to South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope instead of passing through the Red Sea corridor that separates Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Twelve percent of world trade is filtered through the Suez Canal, which feeds into the Red Sea, and already, oil and gas prices have increased as a result of delayed shipments following maritime attacks. Members of the multi-national Combined Maritime Forces are trying to bolster security for commercial ships in the region, officials said earlier in December, and the World Shipping Council said that the “disturbing surge of attacks on vessels poses an imminent threat to the safety and lives of the seafarers navigating these waters.”
“The right of freedom of navigation stands as a fundamental right under international law, and must be safeguarded,” the council said. “The time for resolute international engagement is now.”