According to Reuters, Yemen’s Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced in a televised speech on Thursday that the group plans to introduce military “surprises” in their Red Sea attacks.
Despite facing international condemnation for launching drones and missiles against commercial shipping since mid-November, the Houthi militants remain undeterred. The Houthi leader stated that their attacks in the Red Sea will persist and advance, with unexpected surprises that their enemies will not anticipate.
The group claims to act in solidarity with Palestinians, opposing Israel’s military actions in Gaza as the motivation behind their attacks on international vessels.
Meanwhile, the CMA CGM Group has reevaluated the situation in the Southern Area of the Red Sea and decided to resume transfers through the area.
The company said in a statement: “The evolving conditions allow us to resume transit on case-by-case basis. The situation is being closely assessed for each vessel before each transit, routing choices therefore cannot be anticipated or communicated. Otherwise, all others vessels are rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope.”
CMA CGM was one of the many companies that decided to avoid the Red Sea area due to Houthi attacks, opting for the route around Africa, and the Cape of Good Hope. UNCTAD estimates that transits passing the Suez Canal decreased by 42% compared to its peak.
With major players in the shipping industry temporarily suspending Suez transits, weekly container ship transits have fallen by 67%, and container carrying capacity, tanker transits, and gas carriers have experienced significant declines.
Furthermore, according to IBIA, the Red Sea crisis has undeniably influenced bunker fuel sales in key strategic bunkering ports in Africa, resulting in a range of impacts across the maritime industry and highlighting regional nuances and interdependencies;