Houthi attacks persist despite ships rerouting

Last year, the Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea, forcing shipping lines to reroute their vessels via southern Africa.

Maritime traffic through the Red Sea — the vital waterway carrying goods from Asia to Europe — had already fallen by nearly 80% when Yemen's Houthi rebels and Israel escalated their spillover conflict from the Gaza war last weekend.

Despite the risk, some ships are still opting for the Red Sea route, with dozens of vessels still traversing the waterway that, at its narrowest point, is only 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) wide. 

The website marinetraffic.com showed more than a dozen ships moving along the Red Sea, with many more in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south of Yemen and Oman.

Despite most vessels avoiding the Red Sea, over the past week alone the Houthis have targeted three ships in the area. During one incident, two drones struck close to the Liberian-flagged vessel Pumba, causing minor damage near Al Mukha, a town south of Hodeida port.

In another attack, a ship's captain reported being targeted by three small craft, which collided with and fired at his vessel. The incidents were confirmed by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by Britain's Navy.

The rerouted trade avoiding the Red Sea has meanwhile, caused congestion at ports in Asia and Europe and spiked shipping costs. Rerouting ships around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope takes up to two weeks longer than through the Suez Canal — the extra fuel alone is estimated to cost $1 million (€0.92 million) per sailing, according to LSEG Shipping Research.

The detour is also having an environmental impact as the shipping sector's carbon emissions jumped by 23 million tons in the first half of the year, Bloomberg reported. Emissions from container vessels have climbed 15% over the same period.