Eighteen shipping companies are currently bypassing the African continent to avoid the Red Sea where ships are the target of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a specialized United Nations agency announced on Wednesday.
“A significant number of companies, around 18 carriers, have already decided to reroute their ships around South Africa in order to reduce [le risque] of attacks,” said the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, at UN headquarters.
A strategic maritime zone
At the same time, a coalition of countries led by the United States on Wednesday urged the Houthis of Yemen to “immediately stop their illegal attacks” on merchant ships in the Red Sea, failing which these rebels, close to Iran, will assume the consequences. ” consequences “. The United States believes that the missiles used by the Houthis “very clearly come from Iran”.
Although it supports them politically, the Islamic Republic nevertheless denies providing military equipment to the rebels, who have been at war against the Yemeni government since 2014 and who control a large part of the territory of the country, the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula. This strategic maritime zone sees 12% of world trade. While many shipowners have announced to avoid the Red Sea, transport costs are soaring.