Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said. Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s offensive in Gaza. The near-daily attacks have forced firms into long and costly diversions around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could destabilise the wider Middle East. The United States and Britain have bombed Houthi targets in response.  “(We) are ready to assist requests for permits and identify ships with the Yemeni Navy, and we confirm this is out of concern for their safety,” Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Houthi movement, reported Al-Numair as saying.

The territorial waters affected by the Yemeni order extend halfway out into the 20-km (12-mile) wide Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow mouth of the Red Sea through which around 15% of the world’s shipping traffic passes on its way to or from the Suez Canal. In normal times, more than a quarter of global container cargo – including apparel, appliances, auto parts, chemicals and agricultural products like coffee – move via the Suez Canal. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said there “is good reason to doubt” that the Houthis would stop their assaults on vessels if a ceasefire ends Israel’s major military operations in Gaza.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)