75% of US shipping now avoids Red Sea amid Yemeni strikes: Waltz

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Mar 2025 22:22

LSEG Shipping Research estimates that such diversions can double the duration of shipping between Europe and Asia and add nearly $1 million in expenses per journey.

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A cargo ship sails through the town of Ismailia, Egypt, March 30, 2021. (AP)

Mounting attacks by the Yemeni Resistance have forced a dramatic shift in US maritime operations, with the majority of US-flagged vessels now avoiding the Red Sea. According to US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, ships are being rerouted around the southern tip of Africa to reduce exposure to escalating threats.

"Seventy-five percent of our US flag shipping now has to go around the southern coast of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal," Waltz said during an interview with CBS's Face the Nation. He emphasized the intensity of the threat, noting, "The last time one of our destroyers went through the straits there, it was attacked 23 times."

The Yemeni Resistance has intensified its operations in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. Recent strikes have targeted US and Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Earlier today, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced a series of operations, including the launch of a hypersonic ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, and an hours-long engagement involving missile and drone attacks on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and accompanying warships in the Red Sea.

Elsewhere in his comments, Waltz also criticized the previous administration’s strategy, arguing that a firmer response was long overdue. "The Trump administration and President Trump have decided to do something much harder, much tougher," he said, dismissing prior efforts as "pinprick attacks."

Intensifying airstrikes on Yemen

On March 21, US airstrikes hit several locations across Yemen, including the governorates of Saada, Hodeidah, Sanaa, and al-Bayda. According to Al Mayadeen, the strikes included six raids on al-Tuhayta in Hodeidah and attacks near civilian infrastructure in Sanaa. Yemen's SABA news agency reported that one strike hit an unfinished event hall in a residential area.

Waltz claimed the US operations targeted key Ansar Allah infrastructure, "We've hit their headquarters. We've hit communications nodes, weapons factories, and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities," he said. However, these claims remain unverified, and Yemeni sources report civilian casualties.

Rerouting vessels around Africa significantly increases both cost and transit time. LSEG Shipping Research estimates that such diversions can double the duration of shipping between Europe and Asia and add nearly $1 million in expenses per journey. With the situation at sea growing more volatile, the disruption of one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors appears far from resolved.