Oil tankers Shun Southern Red Sea After U.S.-UK strikes in Yemen
At least six more oil tankers were steering clear of the southern Red Sea on Monday, as disruptions on the vital route for energy shipping increased in the wake of U.S.-led strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Following the strikes, the U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain warned all ships to avoid the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the south end of the Red Sea for several days on Friday, according to tanker body INTERTANKO. Prior to the U.S. and British strikes on Yemen, it had been mostly container ships that were avoiding the Red Sea, with oil tanker traffic largely unchanged in December. A growing number of oil tankers are avoiding the region, increasing the potential for disruptions to the east-west oil supply via the Suez Canal.
Yemen's Houthi rebels may gain more 'legitimacy' with the recent spate of attacks on foreign vessels in the Red Sea, FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert said in an analysis Monday. A missile fired by Yemen's Houthis struck a US-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after Yemen's Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea, officials said. Ignoring warnings from the U.S. and other targeted countries, Houthi actions may raise the group's profile in Yemen, where it is currently based.
Qatar's state energy company has suspended liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments via the Red Sea after U.S.-led strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, joining other firms pulling back from the crucial trade route. Attacks on ships by the Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, have disrupted global commerce and alarmed major powers in a regional escalation of Israel's more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza. The move followed dozens of U.S. and British strikes on the Houthis in Yemen.
On Monday, UN agencies called for faster and safer access to aid to prevent famine and deadly disease outbreaks in Gaza. The U.N. agencies warned that as the risk of famine grows, "a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed," according to a joint statement. The World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization said that getting enough supplies into and across Gaza now depends on opening supply routes and allowing more trucks through border checks each day. The agencies called for fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers and guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid.
