International Maritime Organization: 18 Companies Now Bypass Red Sea Due to Houthi Attacks

NEW YORK (TNS) — Following several attacks on merchant ships, 18 logistics companies are avoiding the route through the Red Sea, according to the International Maritime Organization.

A “significant number of companies” have already decided to reroute their ships around South Africa “in order to reduce the attacks on vessels and of course the impact this has on seafarers in particular,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told the U.N. Security Council in New York on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, shipping giant Maersk announced that it was suspending freight traffic through the sea and the Gulf of Aden until further notice.

Since the outbreak of the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from traveling toward Israel. The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping lanes for global trade, as it connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt.

The Maersk ship Maersk Hangzhou was hit by an object on Saturday after passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait. The company said the ship was initially able to continue on its course, but was later approached by four boats, from which shots were fired and attempts were made to board the cargo ship. With the help of a military helicopter and the ship’s security team, the attack was repelled.

The attacks represent a “significant international problem”, the governments of 12 countries, including Germany and the U.S., complained in a joint statement on Wednesday. According to the statement, almost 15% of international maritime trade passes through the Red Sea On the way from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.

The diversion via the Cape of Good Hope increases the cost and delays the delivery of goods by several weeks — which ultimately jeopardizes the movement of important food, fuel and humanitarian aid around the world.