As Iran-backed Yemeni Armed Forces threaten Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, shipping companies steer clear.
Major global shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd told the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday that it has no plans to return to the Red Sea. The statement from Hapag-Lloyd comes after the Yemeni Armed Forces threatened Israeli shipping in an official Yemen Press Agency statement on Monday.
The threats come shortly after the Yemeni Armed Forces launched a ballistic missile directly at Israel on Monday, according to Israel National News.
“We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and we consider all enemy movements to be legitimate military targets for our Armed Forces from the moment this statement is issued,” the Yemen Press Agency said in the release.
The White House and the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command declined to comment. The State Department could not provide a comment before publication.
The Yemeni Armed Forces also claimed it launched the missile against Israel as retaliation for the Greater Israel Project, the Yemen Press Agency said in the release.
“In rejection of the Zionist project seeking to establish what is so called ‘Greater Israel’ under the name of the New Middle East, and in our endeavor to break the unjust and oppressive siege imposed by the American enemy on our people … the Yemeni Armed Forces launched a missile barrage targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets,” the Yemen Press Agency said in the release.
The average monthly crossing of shipping vessels through the strait was 1,034 in March 2026, while it was over 2,000 in September 2023, according to the Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
‘One Of Our Vessels Was Attacked’
The aggression of the Yemeni Armed Forces has led to a significant downturn in shipping companies’ willingness to traverse the Red Sea, Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson Nils Haupt told the DCNF.
“We haven’t passed the Red Sea since [the] end of 2023, when one of our vessels was attacked – and we have no plans to return anytime soon,” Haupt said. “Most of [the] shipping lines still avoid [the] Red Sea and go via [the] Cape of Good Hope.”
Haupt was referencing an attack on the Al Jasrah, only one of 67 incidents in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from Nov. 19, 2023, to Sept. 2, 2024, according to the International Maritime Organization.
The Red Sea and the Suez Canal are critical assets to global oil exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Oil is pumped via pipeline across Saudi Arabia to be exported from the Red Sea, as vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are frequently attacked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The announcement … [from Yemeni Armed Forces] will cause every ship to think carefully about the wisdom of making a transit,” Reuters reported, citing an anonymous source with ties to global shipping. “The Houthis don’t have a good record of determining which ships have ‘links’ to Israel, so it’s probably better to go around Africa, pay the fuel bill, and benefit from lower war risk insurance costs.”
“All the enemy’s attempts will fail, Allah’s willing, and our operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege against us and the axis of jihad and resistance persist,” the Yemen Press Agency said in the release.
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