Hundreds of world ship reroute from red-sea

On Thursday, more than 100 container ships rerouted from the Red Sea, instead adding at least 10 days and 6,000 nautical miles onto the journey by circumnavigating South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, leading to higher costs and higher emissions.

More shipping and freight companies said on Thursday that they would avoid the Red Sea, and hundreds of vessels were rerouted following attacks on ships by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, which has disrupted global trade and led to a US-established naval task force in the region.

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong’s OOCL said Thursday they would avoid the Red Sea. Hapag-Lloyd said it would reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway, hitting global supply chains.

More than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said late Thursday.

The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has killed at least 20,000 people, in its two-and-a-half-month war on the strip.

Israel's war on Gaza has provoked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks by armed groups in the region, including the Houthi strikes on Red Sea shipping.

The United States announced the multinational Red Sea coalition on Monday, while the Houthis warned two days later that they would strike back if attacked.