WORLD SHIPPING: The world pays and stays silent - WHY?

It may be a bit pushed out of the headlines but what is happening in the Red Sea is dramatic and the most significant impact on the global economy of the war in Gaza.

A senior official at an American consulting company explains that in view of the fact that 30% of global container traffic normally passes through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea crisis has a huge impact on global supply chains.

The Houthi attacks on cargo ships resulted in an almost fivefold increase in the cost of shipping between Asia and Europe. This is estimated to fuel global inflation by adding up to 0.7% to the cost of the global economy's "core commodities".

The best alternative routes add to the voyages thousands of kilometers, over 10 days (between Asia and Europe) and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs for each such journey at sea. "Given the global nature of our economy, few companies or industries are immune to the impact.
The increased cost of raw materials and supplies, longer delivery times, production delays and distribution challenges will affect the entire manufacturing sector long after the crisis is over," he wrote.

The world seems to have come to terms with this reality...

British maritime agency reports another incident off Yemen coast

Another incident has been reported off the #Yemen coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (#UKMTO) said in a statement.

"UKMTO has received a report of an incident 14 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen," the statement reads. "Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution," the agency added.
According to the British maritime security company Ambrey, a Malta-flagged container ship came under attack while on route from Djibouti to the Saudi port of Jeddah. The ship was reportedly targeted with three missiles. According to Reuters, "Ambrey assessed that the vessel was targeted due to its listed operator’s ongoing trade with Israel."

Islamic regime hijacked Portuguese-flagged ship

The #Islamic regime in #Iran #hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC #ARIES.
According to a Visegrád 24 report, the Islamic regime in Iran just hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC ARIES, assisted by a helicopter. She was sailing from the UAE to India when it was hijacked near the Strait of Hormuz. Reportedly, 20 Filipino sailors are kidnapped.

The ship is part-owned by an Israeli firm, the "Zodiac Maritime" group.

Iran confirms seizure of MSC Aries in Strait of Hormuz.
"The Navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the commercial vessel MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRNA news agency reported."

#Container vessel receives damage after attack off #Yemeni coast

A container vessel was attacked southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden, Reuters reported, citing Ambrey, a UK-based maritime security company. According to the news agency, one of the containers aboard the vessel and the crew’s room were damaged. The attack was followed by a fire. No information about casualties is immediately available.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, #UKMTO, reported that another ship had been attacked off the Yemeni coast, 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden.

New Attacks by the Coalition and the Houthis in the Red Sea Region

Following the attempted attack on the American destroyer Gravely, Yemen's Houthis from the Ansarallah movement launched new attacks on civilian ships heading towards the Suez Canal.

The Liberian- flagged container ship KOI (COLE), which was en route to the Israeli port of Eilat, was attacked with an anti-ship missile. The ship was chartered by the British firm Oceanix Services, the same company that previously chartered the supertanker Marlin Luanda, which the Houthis hit on January 26.

Another attack occurred approximately 57 nautical miles from Al-Hodeidah: according to the UK Department of Maritime Trade Operations, an explosion took place some distance off the starboard side of an unidentified ship. Fortunately, the crew was not injured.

Last night, US Air Force F/A-18 carrier-based fighters attacked the group's targets in the vicinity of the city of Al - Hodeidah. Local media reported a series of powerful explosions in the area. Later, the US Central Command confirmed that they had successfully targeted the drone control station.

Red Sea crisis raises maritime shipping costs by 300%, says Spanish company

The crisis in the Red Sea is a "new threat to global trade" and has already led to a 300% increase in the cost of shipping by sea, Spanish credit insurer Credito y Caucion said.

"Attacks against container carriers in the Red Sea have raised the cost of maritime shipping by 300%" and "made inflation risks worse," the insurer said. "The increase is associated with the need for commercial vehicles to select longer and more expensive routes to avoid the conflict zone and bear higher insurance costs," the Spanish company noted.

Most economists expect the situation to continue at least in the short term but the longer the crisis lasts, "the more grave the consequences will be," the insurer said. "About 30% of all container shipments pass via the Red Sea - the critical channel for cargo carriage from the Asia-Pacific to Europe," Credito y Caucion stressed. "Closing the Red Sea route could slash throughput capacity of international marine transportation by about 20%," it added.

The situation in the Red Sea is leading to delays in the arrival of ships to the kingdom and an increase in the cost of transport, a Spanish ports supervision authority told TASS earlier.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard deployed in Yemen

🔶️ The IRGC has stationed missile and drone trainers and operators in Yemen, as well as personnel providing tactical intelligence support to the Houthis, U.S. and Middle East officials told Semafor. The IRGC, through its overseas Qods Force, has also overseen the transfer to the Houthis of the attack drones, cruise missiles, and medium-range ballistic missiles used in a string of strikes on Red Sea and Israeli targets in recent weeks, these officials said.

🔶️ The Houthis say that its military operations are designed to aid the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, which has been locked in a three-month war with Israel. On Monday, the Pentagon said the Houthis struck a U.S.-owned and -operated container vessel, the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, in the Red Sea, but caused no significant damage. The Houthis fired a second anti-ship ballistic missile into the southern Red Sea, the U.S. Central Command said, but it “failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen.”

🔶️ The IRGC’s overall presence inside Yemen is overseen by Gen. Abdul Reza Shahlai, a Tehran-based commander whom the Trump administration attempted to assassinate in a 2020 drone strike inside Yemen, U.S. and Mideast officials said. American intelligence believes Shahlai is deeply involved in Tehran’s overseas terrorist operations through his role as the Qods Force’s deputy commander.

🔶️ This includes a role in overseeing an unsuccessful 2011 Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., Adel al-Jubeir, at a Washington, D.C. restaurant. Shahlai, who’s been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, also helped oversee IRGC attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq over the past two decades. The Department of Justice offered $15 million in 2019 for information related to the commander’s operations and networks.

🔶️ Last month, the White House declassified some information related to Iran’s backing of the Houthis, including the intelligence and targeting support. But it didn’t reference the IRGC’s on-ground presence in Yemen, or Shahlai’s role in the Houthis’ operations.

Houthis claim delivering strike on US ship supporting Israel

Yemen-based Houthi terrorists from the Ansar Allah movement have attacked a pro-Israel U.S. ship with drones as well as with ballistic and anti-ship missiles, movement spokesman Yahya Sarea said.

"The navy, missile troops and unmanned aviation of Yemen’s armed forces have carried out a joint operation using a large number of drones and ballistic and anti-ship missiles, delivering a strike on an American ship providing support to a Zionist formation (Israel)," the military official told the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV channel.

Sarea stressed that the operation was a "preliminary response to a treacherous attack" by the US on December 31 when the Houthi rebels opened fire and attempted to board a container ship run by the Danish shipping company Maersk and US Navy helicopters sank three of their boats. According to the spokesman, ten members of the Ansar Allah movement were killed.

India’s export may fall $30 bln due to conflict in Red Sea

Total Indian exports may contract by about $30 bln in the financial year of 2023-2024 ending on March 31 due to the rise in container shipments rates because of the threat of Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacks against ships, The Business Standard newspaper says, citing the New Delhi-based Research and Information System for Developing Countries.

"The crisis in the Red Sea would indeed impact India’s trade and may lead to further contraction," Sachin Chaturvedi, the director general of the think-tank, told the newspaper.

"The threats have pushed Indian exporters to hold back around 25% of the outbound shipments transiting through the Red Sea," The Business Standard noted, citing director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations Ajay Sahai. According to economists, the use of other sea routes increases the delivery time of containers with Indian exports to EU member-states by several weeks and prompts the rise in transportation costs of a single 40 ft container from $2,000 to $6,000.

Houthis attack CMA CGM’s commercial ship Tage - spokesman

Houthis from Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah movement have attacked the French company CMA CGM’s Tage container ship, which was sailing towards "occupied Palestine", Yahya Saree, the movement’s military spokesman, said.

"The Yemeni Navy carried out a targeted operation against CMA CGM’s Tage ship sailing to a port in occupied Palestine," the Ansar Allah spokesman told the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah television channel.

Saree said that the Houthis attacked the vessel as its crew "refused to respond to warnings from Yemen’s Navy." In addition, he emphasized that the movement would go on conducting strikes on the ships heading to Israel.