On December 12 a Norwegian-owned chemical tanker named Sindra was struck by a cruise missile while passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, near Yemeni coastline. The Norwegian ship was carrying out a spot transport destined for Eni biorefineries, in Italy. The Yemeni rebels Houthi, supported by Iran as a member of the axis which supports Palestinians, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a strategic route for oil and natural gas shipments and is considered as one of the main chokepoints for oil trade. Combined with the Suez Canal total oil shipments accounted for about 12% of total seaborne-traded oil in the first half of 2023. Over 22,500 transits were made via this sea passage in 2022, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking data. That equates to, on average, 62 merchant ships passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait daily.
The Yemen’s Houthi movement has attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks in reaction to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
On Saturday 9, they said they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.
On November 19 the car carrier Galaxy Leader has been seized and has now been turned into a tourist attraction for Yemenis (link>https://x.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/1732342870655340685?s=20)
A few days later, the same happened to the Liberian-flagged product tanker Central Park has been seized and to the containership CMA CGM Symi.
Shipowners are rapidly responding to the increasing threats, since recent heavy warships deployment from UN members isn’t working as expected.
Danish liner giant Maersk became the latest big name to announce that a pair of its ships on charter – Lisa and Maersk Pagani – will be diverted with cargoes discharged in the United Arab Emirates resulting in delays of more than a week. Many other shipping companies with Israeli-linked vessels in their fleet have made similar decisions in recent days. Israeli carrier ZIM, for instance, said a number of its ships would be heading via the Cape of Good Hope to get to their destinations. As the next picture shows, the Far East-Northern Europe trade could take up to 12 days of delay.
If the Israeli–Palestinian conflict persists, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait represents one of the the most dangerous chokepoints for seaborne trade, as a combination of geographical and geopolitical aspects.
