Washington: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are attacking commercial ships and oil tankers to different countries thus disrupting supply chains causing crude oil prices to rise in what they claim are revenge acts against Israel for its aerial bombardments and aerial strikes in Gaza.
Ships of oil giant British Petroleum (BP) were attacked recently causing a sudden spurt in crude prices as insurance costs jumped as the company rerouted its supplies through a longer route through the African continent.
Such attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend their ships’ transit through one of the world’s key maritime trade routes, which could inflict a massive shock to the global economy, media reports said.
Houthis’ drone and aerial strikes on commercial vessels since December 9 could cause an even greater shock to the world economy, logistics experts say.
Four of the world’s five major shipping firms – Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM Group and Evergreen – have announced their decision to suspend transits through the Red Sea following Houthi attacks.
The BP said on Monday it would do the same – a move that caused oil and gas prices to suddenly surge in the commodities markets.
The attacks are forcing ships to make longer re-routes through Africa resulting in insurance costs to spurt. Companies could pass on the increased cost of moving their goods to consumers, raising prices again at a time when governments around the world have struggled to tame post-pandemic inflation, economic experts said.
The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.
The UN has said that the war in Yemen has turned into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Nearly a quarter of a million people have been killed during the conflict, according to UN statistics.
The attacks could be intended to drag more countries into the conflict.
Israel has warned that it is ready to act against the Houthis if the international community does not.
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said this month that there needs to be a “global arrangement” to address the threat “because it is a global issue”, referring to the Houthi attacks as a “naval siege”, media reports said.
A senior US military official said at least 12 commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea had been targeted over the last month.
The official said the attacks had affected at least 44 countries with connections to those vessels, but the international impact was likely greater due to the far-reaching ramifications of global trade.
The US on Monday announced a new multinational naval task force comprising the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Norway and others, to “tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor” that “threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international maritime law”.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi spokesperson, told a Middle Eastern agency on Monday that they would confront any US-led coalition in the Red Sea.
Since the ceasefire, the Houthis have consolidated their control over most of northern Yemen.
They have also sought a deal with the Saudis that would bring the war to a permanent end and cement their role as the country’s rulers.
The Houthis say they will only relent when Israel allows the entry of food and medicine into Gaza; its strikes could be intended to inflict economic pain on Israel’s allies in the hope they will pressure it to cease its bombardment of the enclave.
–IANS
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