Shipping firms increasingly avoiding Red Sea despite US coalition
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Norwegian shipping company Gram Car Carriers declares that its vessels are restricted from passing through the Red Sea, followed by German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, which says it aims to reroute 25 ships by the end of the year, and avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
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The picture shows a cargo ship, the Galaxy Leader, seized by Yemen’s Armed Forces at a port on the Red Sea on November 22, 2023. (AP)
More shipping companies are refraining from sending ships through the Red Sea, despite the naval coalition established by the US to protect Israeli ships amid Yemen's attacks on Israeli ships in support of Gaza.
For instance, Norwegian shipping company Gram Car Carriers, which specializes in car truck carriers, declared that its vessels were restricted from passing through the Red Sea, which was followed by German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, which said it aims to reroute 25 ships by the end of the year and avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
It also promised to take further decisions at the end of the year, but no further details were provided. It is noteworthy that shipping companies have made this decision despite the US coalition's presence.
Read more: 'Attacks on ships in Red Sea must stop': White House
Over the past few weeks, the Yemeni Armed Forces intensified their operations, focusing on commercial vessels near the Bab al-Mandab strait in the Red Sea on ships that either belong to Israeli companies or are en route to "Israel".
A disguise to maintain presence?
In response to the operations being carried out by the Yemeni people in support of occupied Palestine and the people of Gaza, the United States military launched a new coalition in the Red Sea called "Operation Prosperity Guardian," under the guise of securing maritime trade routes.
The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain will be among the countries jointly working with the Pentagon under the coalition.
A member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, confirmed in a statement to Al Mayadeen that the goal of the maritime coalition was intended to protect "Israel" and not international navigation.
Al-Houthi stressed that the discourse and statements of the YAF confirm that international navigation is safe for everyone, except for Israeli ships or those headed to the ports of the Israeli occupation.
