Red Sea shipping remains risky despite the Gaza ceasefire and an announcement by Yemen’s Houthis to limit attacks, according to the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's logistics and shipping arm.
Danish shipping company Maersk said on Friday it would continue to reroute around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope until safe passage through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area was ensured for the longer term © Mena Today
Red Sea shipping remains risky despite the Gaza ceasefire and an announcement by Yemen’s Houthis to limit attacks, according to the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's logistics and shipping arm.
Shipping executives remain cautious about a return to the Red Sea given the risk to seafarers, cargo and their assets. The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, resulting in most shipping companies diverting vessels away from the Suez Canal to instead use the longer route around southern Africa.
"As we speak today, we cannot say it's almost completely gone, and it's a go ahead for all the fleet to go inside the Red Sea. As I said, there is a people side of it, so we cannot risk our people going there while there is maybe a fragile ceasefire now," ADNOC Logistics & Services CEO Abdulkareem Al Masabi told Reuters.
Danish shipping company Maersk said on Friday it would continue to reroute around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope until safe passage through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area was ensured for the longer term.
The Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ship provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented, although they have conditioned their halt in attacks on U.S. or UK linked shipping with various provisos, which has added to caution on any return, shipping and insurance sources say.
The Houthis on Wednesday freed crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vessel that the militant group seized more than a year ago. And Washington this week designated the Houthi movement as a "foreign terrorist organization", which is likely to add to fresh tensions with the militia.
By Enes Tunagur
US embassies in Jerusalem, Baghdad and Amman issued security alerts Saturday urging American citizens to exercise "heightened vigilance," as tensions flare between Iran and the United States. Americans were also told to "consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation."
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Saturday it had received reports of two maritime incidents off Oman, including one in which a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile.
Britain has asked Cyprus to extradite a dual British-Azerbaijani national suspected of spying on a British air base on the Mediterranean island and passing his findings to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, London police said on Friday.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.