The war in Gaza between Israel and Palestine did not show any signs of truce, and things turned for the worse as more parties are starting to join this war. The latest information regarding the matter is related to the Houthi’s attack in the Red Sea. It was stated that the UK has joined the US in conducting a round of strikes against the Houthis in an attempt to stop the rebel group targeting shipping in the southern red sea (Daly, 2024). However several sources also noted Houthi’s response that they are not afraid of it. Banco and Sligman (2024) even stated that the Houthi responded to it by asking for more weapons from Iran to step up counter attacks in the Red sea. So not only that the UK and the US are joining the forces in attacking the Houthi, but the Houthi responded with no fear to strike back which means that the situation in the Red Sea is not going to calm down anytime soon. There are also some possibilities for other parties to join in this war.

But who is Houthi? And why did they do it? Houthi is a Yemeni Insurgent group who show their support for Palestine by attacking Cargo Ships passing the Red Sea. The Houthi claimed that attacking the Cargo Ship is a part of their solidarity for their brother and sister in Palestine (Al-Mughrabi and Masoud 2023). Houthi’s assault on Cargo Ships could be noted as the first open fire from an external party in response to this war. McGarvey and Da Costa (2023) stated within their article in BBC News that the Yemeni Insurgence Group hijacked the British owned, Japan-Operated, Cargo ship and claimed that the ship was Israeli’s in November 2023. The actions taken by the Houthi is obviously a call for actions for world interference but this raised a lot of concerns as this affects more than just the Israelis.

These attacks did not stop at that hijacking event, and it escalated to a full force attack. Drone, missile and speed boats were highly used against two dozen other ships (BBC News 2024). The Houthis stated that they also wont stop and even would attack more of the Cargo Ship passing the Red Sea, as long as Israel kept on bombing Gaza (Al-Mughrabi and Masoud 2023). However, the unfortunate part is that many of the attacked ships may have no connections to Israel at all, as the Red Sea is an International Canal, with so many multinational Cargo Ships passing through.

Shipping Line resorted to shipment reroute to avoid entering the Red Sea proximity for shipments from Asia to Europe, and some even canceled the shipments because of this (Reuters 2024). A lot of shipping lines rerouted their shipments to Cape of Good Hope, making the trip that much longer. Some did rerouting just like Maersk’ Blue Nile Express service, followed by inland options whenever possible (Maersk 2024). The domino effect this has in the global economy and supply chain is immense and not to be ignored, especially for logistic firms. Depending on the final destinations, cargos were either late, failed to be delivered, or even lost in the Red Sea. So what’s your take on this? Feel free to chime in on our comment section. And as the current situation remains tense, remember to make sure you have the best advice from your trusted forwarding agent for your shipment.

Reference
Aljazeera, 2024. “Oil supply tightens in Europe over Red Sea disruptions” [Online]. From
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/20/oil-supply-tightens-in-europe-over-red-sea-disruptions [Accessed 23
January 2024].
Al-Mughrabi, Nadal and Bassam Masoud, 2023. “Israel keeps pounding Gaza, Houthis vow more Red Sea attacks” [Online].
From https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/joint-patrols-guard-ships-response-attacks-by-houthis-backing-
palestinians-2023-12-18/ [Accessed 23 January 2024].
Banco, Erin and Lara Seligman, 2024. “Houthis seek more Iranian weapons to step up Red Sea attacks, intel shows”
[Online]. From https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/21/intel-houthis-red-sea-yemen-00136814 [Accessed 23 January
2024].
BBC News, 2024. “Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking Red Sea ships?” [Online]. From
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67614911 [Accessed 23 January 2024].
Daly, Patrick, 2024. “Continuing Red Sea attacks on cargo ships ‘concerning’, says Sunak” [Online]. From https://www.independent.co.uk/business/continuing-red-sea-attacks-on-cargo-ships-concerning-says-sunak-b2480835.html [Accessed 23 January 2024].
Josephs, Jonathan, 2024. “Red Sea ‘scary’ for ships’ crews, says captain” [Online]. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68030306 From [Accessed 23 January 2024].
Maersk, 2024. “Maersk Operations through Red Sea / Gulf of Aden” [Online]. From https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2023/12/15/maersk-operations-through-red-sea-gulf-of-aden [Accessed 24
January 2024].
McGarvey, Emily and Ana Nicolaci da Costa, 2023. “Japan condemns Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijack of cargo ship in Red Sea” [Online]. From https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67470711 [Accessed 23 January 2024].
Reuters, 2024. “Shipping firms react to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea” [Online]. From
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/shipping-firms-avoid-red-sea-houthi-attacks-increase-2023-12-18/
[Accessed 23 January 2024].

Image by Mohamed Abd El Ghany can be found here