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...

Iranian spy ships behind the Houthi's deadly attacks on vessels
Over the past few days, the Yemeni Houthis have increased their attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea.

However, the Houthis' largest attack on an international waterway occurred on Saturday, when the US military revealed the downing of 32 drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis at targets in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Which put the spotlight back on Iran's indirect role in these attacks.
The Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar al-Ariani, confirmed yesterday evening that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) established a sea and land bridge to provide the Houthis with precision weapons that it uses in its attacks in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden, through special smuggling networks that use ships.

A former U.S. Army officer said the precision strikes by the Houthis indicated a possible Iranian role.

David de Roches, a former U.S. Army colonel and also a lecturer at the Center for Strategic Studies for the Near East and South Asia at the National Defense University in Washington, hinted at a possible role of The Iranian ship "Bashad" in an attack a few days ago on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Arab World News Agency. "In my estimation and everyone's estimation, the Iranian intelligence ship - "Bahshad" provides attack data to the Houthi missiles and this is what makes them accurate and deadly" - he added.

#Britain, #Germany, "Sweden considering opening embassies in #North_Korea

The diplomatic missions of Great Britain, Germany and Sweden are considering the possibility of opening embassies in North Korea, Reuters reports with reference to diplomats of these countries.

According to report, representatives of the German Foreign Ministry are currently in Pyongyang. They have been "inspecting the territory of the German embassy for two days now," a representative of the German Foreign Ministry told the agency, noting that the decision to resume the work of the diplomatic mission has not yet been made. According to a representative of the British Foreign Ministry, the United Kingdom, which closed the embassy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in May 2020, is also trying to send a group of diplomats to Pyongyang. "We are negotiating with the DPRK government through the embassy in London in order to prepare for the visit of the technical and diplomatic group in the near future," he said.

Sweden's Special Envoy for Korean Peninsula Affairs, Peter Semneby, told Reuters that some progress had been made towards the possible return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, but declined to provide details, citing the sensitivity of the issue. "There is some movement, and we hope that we will be able to reopen our embassy relatively soon," he added.

As previously reported by the Yonhap news agency, the head of the German Foreign Ministry's department for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Martin Tummel, the first high-ranking Western diplomat to visit the country in four years, arrived in the DPRK. According to the agency, visits of this level have not been reported since January 2020,

#Houthis damage four undersea #cables between #Europe, #Asia

The Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement have damaged four international underwater cables in the Red Sea which connected Asia, Europe and Africa, Israel’s Globes newspaper reported.

According to its information, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea damaged four submarine communication cables between Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in East Africa. The attacks triggered "serious disruption of Internet communications between Europe and Asia, with the main damage being felt in the Gulf countries and India." According to experts, the damage is not critical because other cables are still functioning. The newspaper said that it may take at least two months to restore the damaged cables.

#Houthis say they attacked U.S., UK ships in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah has attacked two vessels belonging to the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea waters, the movement's spokesman, Yahya Saria, said.

"The Yemeni navy conducted two military operations in the Red Sea, the first of which targeted the US vessel Star Nasia and the second [aimed at] the UK vessel Morning Tide," he told the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel. Both ships were hit "directly and accurately" by anti-ship missiles, the spokesman added.

The EU will allocate 10 billion euros for a transportation corridor bypassing Russia through Azerbaijan

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank plan to invest 1.5 billion euros in strategic transportation infrastructure projects in Central Asia to establish a transportation corridor from the region bypassing Russia.

The European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) intend to invest 1.5 bln euro in strategic transport infrastructure facilities in Central Asia for creating a transport corridor stretching 11,000 kilometers from Asia to Europe bypassing Russia, EC Executive Vice-President, Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said when opening a two-day transport investment forum EU-Central Asia in Brussels.

"Our long-term objective is to make the [transport] corridor a competitive, sustainable, smart and fast route to link our two regions in 15 days or less. To achieve this, we need to coordinate our resources with other corridor countries, international financial institutions, EU member states, as well as investors and companies both in Europe and Central Asia," he said, adding that "the joint contribution from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to advance the transport agenda in Central Asia will amount to 1.5 bln euro."

Meanwhile EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell admitted that the EU’s plans to invest in the transport infrastructure of Central Asian nations have political purposes aimed at protecting the same values.

"We need closer partnership to address global challenges. <…> Yes, we have to build infrastructure, we have to increase the connectivity of our space, but all that serves a political purpose to increase our partnership and to share a better future by increasing economic ties and defending the same values," he said.

Iran seizes oil tanker and crew in Arabian Gulf

🔶️ Iran seized a foreign oil tanker it accused of transporting “smuggled fuel” and detained 14 crew members on Sunday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

🔶️ It was seized by court order 60 miles off the coast of Bandar-e-Bushehr. The crew on board “of Asian origin” were detained.

🔶️ Tasnim said the ship was from Australia, without providing any further detail.

🔶️ It comes just weeks after the navy boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker once at the centre of a dispute between Washington and Tehran.

#China presses #Iran to rein in #Houthi attacks in #Red_Sea

Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.

The discussions about the attacks and trade between China and Iran took place at several recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran, the Iranian sources said, declining to provide details about when they took place or who attended. "Basically, China says: 'If our interests are harmed in any way, it will impact our business with Tehran. So tell the Houthis to show restraint'," said one Iranian official briefed on the talks, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have raised the cost of shipping and insurance by disrupting a key trade route between Asia and Europe used widely by ships from China.

The Chinese officials, however, did not make any specific comments or threats about how Beijing's trading relationship with Iran could be affected if its interests were damaged by Houthi attacks, the four Iranian sources said. While China has been Iran's biggest trading partner for the past decade, their trade relationship is lopsided.

Chinese oil refiners, for example, bought over 90% of Iran's crude exports last year, according to tanker tracking data from trade analytics firm Kepler, as U.S. sanctions kept many other customers away and Chinese firms profited from heavy discounts.

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.

It appears that while some US-flagged merchant ships reversed course - ARC Liberty and Maersk Chicago - and others are still heading for the Suez to head south; some are holding their positions - Maersk Kensington & Green Bay - while they await for escorts to be established.

🔶️ In the meantime, the French-owned Malta-flagged CMA CGM Aqaba just ran (Dec 20/21) the Bab el-Mandeb [BAM] into the Gulf of Aden. CMA CGM Pegasus (w/armed guards aboard) just departed Djibouti after sailing through the BAM on Dec 18 and is showing a destination of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea (but she may be heading to Asia).

🔶️ The French-owned CMA CGM Washington (Malta-flagged 14,360 TEU) and APL Salalah (Singapore-flagged 10,800 TEU and owned by CMA CGM) are the only containerships over 8000 TEU heading for the BAM in the Indian Ocean and will probably pick up an escort to run past Yemen.

🔶️ It appears that the French Navy is using the frigate Languedoc to escort their ships through the waters around Yemen and avoid the Houthi.

🔶️ It appears that France is withdrawing from Op Prosperity Guardian and will be conducting their own escort operation.

🔶️ The question is why the @USNavy @US5thFleet has not yet escorted Maersk Kensington through the BAM, as the ship has been sitting in the Red Sea for a week (since Dec 15), or Green Bay (since Dec 17) in the Gulf of Aden?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HObhQdNXq2U