The CMA CGM container ship “Palais Royal”, the largest in the world to be powered by liquefied gas, on December 14, 2023 in Marseille (AFP/Archives/Christophe SIMON)
Global shipping giants announced on Friday and Saturday that they were suspending the passage of their ships through the Red Sea, a major commercial hub, after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The Danish Maersk, the German Hapag-Lloyd, the French CMA CGM and the Italian-Swiss MSC have announced that their ships will no longer use the Red Sea “until further notice”, at least until Monday or “until passage through the Red Sea is safe.”
The Red Sea is a “motorway of the sea” linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, on which some 20,000 ships travel each year.
In recent weeks, Yemeni rebels, close to Iran, have increased attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa and through which 40% of international trade passes.
A member of the Yemeni coast guard loyal to the internationally recognized government aboard a patrol boat in the Red Sea off the town of Mokha near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, December 12, 2023 (AFP/Khaled ZIAD )
The Houthis have warned they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Several missiles and drones were shot down by US and French warships patrolling the area.
United Kingdom Defense Minister Grant Shapps announced on Saturday that the British destroyer HMS Diamond had shot down a “suspected attack drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea” overnight from Friday to Saturday.
On Friday, the rebel group claimed to have carried out “a military operation against two container ships, MSC Alanya and MSC Palatium III”.
According to the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom), the MSC Alanya was only threatened, without being hit, while the Palatium was hit by one of the two ballistic missiles fired.
– Detour via the Cape of Good Hope –
In a press release on Saturday, the MSC group only mentioned the case of the MSC Palatium III. It specifies that no crew member was injured and explains that the ship suffered “limited damage due to fire”.
“Due to this incident and to protect the lives and safety of our sailors, until passage through the Red Sea is safe, MSC vessels will not transit the Suez Canal,” gateway and exit of ships passing through the Red Sea.
“Already, certain services will be rerouted to pass through the Cape of Good Hope”, in the very south of Africa, indicates MSC.
This bypass of Africa will considerably lengthen journeys. The company asks its customers to “show understanding in these serious circumstances”.
The same day, CMA CGM, the leading French maritime carrier, “decided to order all CMA CGM container ships in the region which must pass through the Red Sea, to reach safe zones” or not to leave the waters deemed safe, “with immediate effect and until further notice”, according to a press release.
“The situation continues to deteriorate and security concerns are increasing,” says CMA CGM to justify its decision.
In a note dated December 7, researcher Noam Raydan, from the Washington Institute, already highlighted that, to avoid the Red Sea, ships bypass Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, extending their journey by two weeks.
© 2023 AFP
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