The hijacking of the Galaxy Leader and subsequent attacks on other vessels underscores the influence of geopolitics in the Middle East Gulf in commercial shipping. A number of the world’s leading container carriers, including Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC are now diverting their ships away from the Red Sea region because of an increased threat of attacks.
The NYK Line-chartered pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Galaxy Leader was seized on November 19 near Hodeida, Yemen, while sailing for India. Yemen’s armed forces claimed responsibility for the incident. It was later reported that the vessel was owned by UK-headquartered Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar.
Marine risk intelligence agency Dryad Global said that while approximately 1,500 vessels transit the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait each month, the recent attacks demonstrate these vessels were specifically targeted due their connections to Israel and Israeli ports. The Houthi, which declared support for Hamas since Israel’s military campaign was launched in Gaza, has stepped up its attacks, using drones and rockets against foreign-owned vessels.
MSC said that it will reroute its Suez Canal traffic to the Cape of Good Hope following an incident in Red Sea. On December 15, MSC Palatium III was attacked while transiting the Red Sea. All crew members are safe with no reported injuries. The vessel suffered minor fire damage and has been taken out of service. “This disruption will impact the sailing schedules by several days of vessels booked for Suez transit,” said the carrier.
Of course, the escalation in the region poses excessive risks to vessels and for seafarers. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), for one, said that it “deplores the actions of the Houthis in the strongest terms and calls for the immediate cessation of these attacks. These are unacceptable acts of aggression which threaten the lives of innocent seafarers and the safety of merchant shipping”. It added that these attacks are a flagrant breach of international law. “States with influence in the region should, as a matter of urgency, work to stop the actions of the Houthis in attacking seafarers and merchant ships, and de-escalate what is now an extremely serious threat to international trade,” it added.
The knock-on effect on international trade could be significant. In April 2021, the container vessel Ever Given grounded in the Suez Canal for seven days, blocking all traffic and disrupting supply chains globally. An estimated 12 percent of global trade, around 1 million barrels of oil and roughly 8 percent of LNG pass through the canal each day. The solution to the issues we see today, however, will be much more challenging than refloating a grounded containership. Navies will need to coordinate resources to secure shipping lanes, something that will take more than a few days to bring about in what is clearly a complex geopolitical climate.
