MSC, Mærsk & CMA CGM – where rivalry doesn't matter (and where it does)
Behind closed doors
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia appears to be calling an end to its siege of the Red Sea, and its attempted blockade of Israeli ports and attacks on merchant ships transiting the waterway.
The news follows the ceasefire in Gaza and comes some two years after the group’s first attack.
Sharing a letter on Twitter, sent to the Al Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, the Yemeni group did not explicitly state it had ended attacks, but amid praising the brigade and “sharing your joy in victory”, it appeared to suggest this was the case.
“We’re closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Sea,” the letter noted.
Over the past 25 months, dozens of ships have been attacked, four sunk, and at least nine seafarers have been killed, including one during the most recent attack, on 29 September, against the Netherlands-flagged Minervagracht, which left a crew member wounded.
The Houthis said the Minervagracht had been attacked after it violated “the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine”; the crew member’s death later confirmed by vessel owner Spliethoff Group.
If true, this latest cessation is the second this year – the Houthis said they would end operations against commercial shipping in May, a spokesperson then telling The Loadstar “ships transiting the Red Sea without stopping at port of Haifa will not be targeted”.
That suspension did not last long after the Israeli Defence Force stepped up its attacks against not only Gaza but targets in Iran and in Doha, the latter reportedly leading to a rebuke from US president Donald Trump.
The letter shared by the militia was not dated, but its posting on Twitter comes a month after the Israelis agrees to suspend the assault on Gaza in exchange for a return of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attack in 2023.
Since the ceasefire began, the Houthis have not attacked any commercial vessels in the Red Sea, andthere have been tentative steps by CMA CGM to explore transits through the Red Sea, with a number of regional carriers now joining.
Speaking to The Loadstar prior to today’s Houthi announcement, Xeneta’s chief analyst, Peter Sand, said the sailings by CMA CGM, when “put into the greater scheme of things”, did not then indicate a rapid return of Suez sailings.
He noted that CMA CGM’s extra sailings contrasted with a broader trend, which has seen transits having dropped month on month, from 180 in January to 131 over the first 26 days of October.
“For Bab el-Mandeb transits, it has been steadier from January through to August, but there has been a clear falling tendency in September and more so in October, with 223 in January, 174 for September and 107 transits for 1-26 Oct,” Mr Sand said.
Resultantly, he said, Xeneta was not expecting any sort of full-scale return of liner services before 2027.
As this story was going to press, Mr Sand had not responded to requests for comment from The Loadstar, but as he has explained in prior discussions, it all depends on when insurers are happy.
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