Israeli-owned and flagged vessels now subject to Houthi ‘bans’ on transiting Red Sea, Bab el Mandeb, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Gulf saying it will only stop attacking Israeli ships when all three phases of ceasefire deal are complete
Yemen’s Houthi rebels signaled they now will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas group began in the Gaza Strip, but warned wider assaults could resume.
While Houthi representatives said the Yemeni-based group would no longer target US- and UK-owned, managed and flagged ships from January 19, after “the cessation of aggression on the Gaza Strip”.
An email
The Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, through which the Houthis communicate with merchant shipping, said in an email distributed around 5pm London time on Sunday that it was “stopping the sanctions imposed on vessels listed on ban lists”.
The email, addressed to shipowners, managers, government authorities, marine insurers, unions and shipping representative groups, said that the “military operations” of the Yemeni Armed Forces (how the Houthis reference themselves) were linked to events in Gaza.
Is the ceasefire is considered fragile ?
The ceasefire is considered fragile,” said Jakob P. Larsen, the head of maritime security for BIMCO, the largest international association representing shipowners.
“The coming weeks will provide the proof of whether the Houthi follow suit with their stated intent,” the maritime security firm Ambrey warned.
The Red Sea trade corridor
Global trade through the Red Sea trade corridor has plunged by 60% over the past 14 months — most of it Western-linked tonnage — since Houthis began attacking ships it claimed were linked to aggression against Palestinians.
The Houthis attacked more than 134 ships over 12 months using fast attack craft, uncrewed surface vessels, drones, and ballistic, cruise and anti-ship missiles supplied by Iran and China amid increased collaboration with terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, according to a UN Security Council Panel of Experts report on Yemen published in October.
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