U.S. and British forces responded with multiple attacks against the Houthis.
Yemen’s Houthis said on Tuesday they would only reconsider missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea once Israel ends its “aggression” in the Gaza Strip.
Asked whether attacks would stop if a ceasefire was reached, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the situation would be reassessed if the siege of Gaza ended and humanitarian aid could enter freely. .
“Unless Israel stops its aggression and siege of Gaza, any action to help the Palestinian people will not stop,” he said.
Since November, the Houthis have launched multiple attacks in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which they say are actions to express solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war, escalating shipping risks.
U.S. and British forces have responded with multiple attacks on Houthi facilities but have so far been unable to stop the attacks.
Maersk, the world’s top container shipping company, told its customers in a statement on Tuesday that they should prepare for disruptions in the Red Sea that will last into the second half of the year and add longer transit times to supply chain planning.
Seafarers remain on the front lines and have signed agreements to receive double wages when entering high-risk areas and have the right to refuse travel on ships passing through the Red Sea.
Galaxy Maritime Ltd is the owner of UK-registered car transport company Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by the Houthis on November 19 with 25 crew members on board. The company said on Tuesday that sailors from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico, Romania and the Philippines found “nothing.” It has nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East.”
Galaxy Maritime said in an update: “Crews are increasingly worried about their loved ones at home as they are allowed to make only a small number of calls.”
“The detainees’ families are now calling on the international community to take action to ensure the immediate release of the crew.”
Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO), called for “collective action to enhance the safety of people at sea” and to free the Galaxy Leader.
“An attack on international shipping starts with an attack on seafarers,” he told an International Maritime Organization conference.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous region, issued formal notices to shipping officials and insurance companies, saying ships with links to Israel, the United States and Britain were banned from sailing in surrounding waters.
In a letter circulated to IMO member states on February 15, Yemen’s officially recognized government said it had “warned of the dangers of the Houthi militia,” adding that the group “continues to lay mines at will” while also using drones. Humans, machines and drones. missile.
The fate of the abandoned cargo ship Rubymar is unclear after it was hit by a Houthi missile and leaked fuel in the southern Red Sea on February 18. The ship remains submerged.
The ship’s charter broker told Reuters on Monday it was seeking to send a work vessel to fill the hole created by the Houthi missiles. There were no further updates Tuesday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
