CrossFireArabia
According to US intelligence sources, Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red and Arabian Seas has affected the interests of at least 65 countries as reported by Al Jazeera.
The attacks also affected the interests of 29 mega energy and cargo companies because of the needed rerouting from the Yemen’s Bab El Mandeb, to going around the Cope of Good Hope on the tip of Southern Africa.
The satellite channel pointed out 19 ships were damaged by such attacks between November 2023 till last March.
And today, the Houthi attacks continue and are seen as a major security challenge to world trade and free shipping. But the Houthis have also maintained that from the start, they would only target ships bound for Eilat and other Israeli ports.
Since the attacks started however, 100s of ships have been diverted from the narrow Bab El Mandeb on the corner tip of Yemen to the Cape of Good Hope which has tremendously affected global trade.
The Red Sea route used to be busy accounting for 12 percent of world trade going through the Suez Canal and which is estimated to be worth $1 trillion each year. As well, 10 percent of the world’s energy supplies go through the narrow Yemeni straits.
