10 января 2024 — 14:00
The Chinese state-owned container carrier Cosco Shipping will stop delivering cargo to Israeli ports due to the increased attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The company notified the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Israel about this, Kommersant reports with reference to Bloomberg.
It turns out that Cosco became the last of the five largest container carriers in the world to announce the suspension of supplies through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to Houthi attacks. In December, this was announced by CMA CGM, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk.
Recall that the Houthis announced in mid-November that they would strike Israeli targets, including the country's merchant ships. And on December 9, a Houthi representative said that the movement would also prevent the passage of ships bound for Israel, regardless of which country they belong to.
On December 14, the Yemeni Houthis fired a missile at the Maersk Gibraltar container ship, following the course of Salalah (Oman)— Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). There was no hit, the crew was not injured. On December 15, a projectile of unknown origin struck the Hapag-Lloyd Al Jasrah vessel, causing a fire on board. Following him, a missile fired from a drone hit the MSC Palatium III container ship. In response to the increased attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships, the United States, together with its allies, launched Operation Guardian of Prosperity to protect ships in the Red Sea. The possible holding of a pan-European mission in the region today, January 8, was announced by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrel.
The day before, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that 20% of the world's maritime traffic is disrupted due to Houthi attacks on ships. The ruling Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) in northern Yemen has invited ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the Red Sea to report the lack of ties with Israel. According to Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, this will help avoid an attack.