Red Sea: Houthi militias ensure safe conduct for Russian and Chinese ships

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Cargo ship in front of the port of Aden in Yemen (photo from 2010)

Photo: Khaled Abdullah Ali Al Mahdi / REUTERS

Russian and Chinese merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden apparently will not have to fear fire from the Houthi militias from Yemen in the future. As a chief negotiator from the militias allied with Iran confirmed to the Reuters news agency, ships from the two countries should be able to pass the trade route safely in the future. The Bloomberg news agency had previously reported on the agreement.

The Houthis have been attacking civilian ships on the important sea route since the end of 2023, using flying and floating drones, among other things.

With the attacks, the militias want to weaken Israel and its allies and bring about an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree had announced months ago that the attacks would continue until the "Israeli aggression" ended - by which he meant the war in the Gaza Strip.

Bundeswehr frigate “Hessen” destroys drone

In order to protect merchant shipping in the region, the German Navy has also been participating in the EU mission “Aspides” for several weeks. According to the Bundeswehr, on Thursday the frigate “Hessen” again destroyed a drone that was heading towards a convoy.

Around ten percent of world trade goes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal further north. Recently, however, only about a fifth of the expected volume of freight was transported here. Large shipping companies such as Maersk or Hapag-Lloyd avoid the area and take the long detour around the Cape of Good Hope. The longer route comes with delays and increased transport costs.

Individual cargo ships had recently tried to use radio messages to dissuade the Houthis from attacking. Recently, two ships are said to have sent the messages “Armed guard all Chinese” or “No business with Israel”.

The route is of particular importance for Chinese shipping companies: the port of Piraeus in Greece is an important gateway for goods from the Far East. The Chinese shipping company Cosco is the majority owner here - if the shelling in the Red Sea continues, there could be a risk of massive losses.

fek/Reuters