Dec 18 (Reuters) – Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza.
The attacks, targeting a route that allows East-West trade, especially of oil, to use the Suez Canal to save the time and expense of circumnavigating Africa, have pushed some shipping companies to re-route vessels to avoid the area.
Below are companies (in alphabetical order) that are considering or have decided to pause shipping via the Red Sea:
BP
Oil major BP on Dec. 18 said it had temporarily paused all transits through the Red Sea.
CMA CGM
French shipping group CMA CGM on Dec. 16 said it was pausing all container shipments through the Red Sea.
EQUINOR
Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor on Dec. 18 said it had re-routed some vessels that had been heading towards the Red Sea.
EURONAV
Belgian oil tanker firm Euronav said on Dec. 18 it would avoid the Red Sea area until further notice.
EVERGREEN
Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen said on Dec. 18 its vessels on regional services to Red Sea ports would sail to safe waters nearby and wait for further notification, while ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea would be re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope. It also temporarily stopped accepting Israeli cargo.
FRONTLINE
Norway-based oil tanker group Frontline said on Dec. 18 that its vessels will avoid passages through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the time ahead, boosting the rates customers must pay for crude transport.
HAPAG-LLOYD
German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd said on Dec. 18 it would re-route several ships via the Cape of Good Hope until the safety of passage through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea could be guaranteed.
A projectile believed to be a drone struck its vessel Al Jasrah on Dec. 15, while sailing close to the coast of Yemen. No crew were injured.
MAERSK
Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk on Dec. 15 said it would pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice, following a “near-miss incident” involving its vessel Maersk Gibraltar a day earlier.
The ship was targeted by a missile while traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the company said.
MSC
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on Dec. 16 its ships would not transit through the Suez Canal, with some already rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, a day after Houthi forces fired two ballistic missiles at its MSC Palatium III vessel. The decision will disrupt sailing schedules by several days, the Switzerland-based group said.
OOCL
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has stopped cargo acceptance to and from Israel until further notice, theshipping company owned by Hong Kong-based Oriental Overseas (International) Ltd 0316.HK said on Dec. 16.
YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT
Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport said on Dec. 18 it would divert ships sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden via the Cape of Good Hope for the next two weeks.
(Reporting by Paolo Laudani, Izabela Niemiec and Jesus Calero in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi and Jason Neely)
🇲🇽- Mexican Cartel Drone Operator seen stalking a Mexican Marine Convoy in Mazatlán.
This isn’t much of a surprise, Cartel members have reportedly been joining the Ukrainian Foreign Legions en masse to hone drone operation and close quarters combat skills.
Since many of them are starting to return home, and now training other members of their cartels, i wouldn’t be shocked to see a new level of militarization in these organizations.
📝 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 Mario Nawfal on X: Europe's riots are just the beginning. The real economic shock hasn't even arrived yet.
I spoke with economist Philip Pilkington about the unrest spreading across France, Italy and Albania.
He thinks we're watching the early stages of something much bigger.
One statistic really caught my attention.
According to Pilkington, France's inflation-adjusted household food consumption has fallen roughly 6.4% since 2022. He suspects the poorest households have suffered far steeper cuts.
Now add another surge in energy prices.
Pilkington pointed to rice futures rising 70% this year, wheat and sugar climbing 40%, and fertilizer shortages threatening next year's harvest.
His prediction is that the worst food inflation could arrive this winter or next spring.
And there's a political problem sitting right on top of it.
Governments across Europe are already deeply unpopular. People are struggling to afford basic necessities, and another prolonged energy ...
🇨🇦🇨🇦🗳 Alberta votes on leaving Canada; separatist movement likely to outlast expected defeat
Alberta holds a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, a debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause.
Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas despite having one-sixth the population.
The Alberta separatist movement adds to the pressures on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has made defending Canada's sovereignty a central mission as he confronts US tariffs and President Donald Trump's repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.
Many Alberta separatists believe the Liberal Party-led federal government in Ottawa has constrained the Conservative-governed ...
My jaw literally dropped listening to this
There is a Muslim pilot who works for United Airlines that regularly makes pro-terrorist organizations posts on his social media
The Muslims name is Ibrahim Mossallam. He works on the Board of CAIR New York, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood
He made an October 7, 2023 Facebook post calling the Hamas attacks “resistance by a brave people.” United suspended him with pay while investigating but the Pilots Union got him his job back and he went back to flying planes in America
Since then the pilot has been temporarily resuspended for flying because of his extreme religious beliefs and posts but he is 100% still employed. He is still getting paid on suspension
I looked into this guy and he is VERY involved in Muslim organizations