Two of the world’s largest container shipping lines said last Friday that they were pausing transits through the Red Sea after their vessels were attacked. The United States “will continue to consider options and take coordinated, multilateral action to confront these unacceptable threats and attacks in the Red Sea”, said White House National Security Council spokesman Eduardo Maia Silva. Bab al-Mandab is a narrow stretch of water that links the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea. Euronav NV, an owner of oil supertankers, said it was insisting that its vessels be granted an option in all charters to avoid the Red Sea. At least three container ships have been attacked or disrupted near Yemen in the past few days or so.

Source: The Star December 18, 2023 06:03 UTC