(Washington) The oil company Shell will no longer pass its ships through the Red Sea until further notice, according to information published Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) due to threats posed by Yemeni Houthi rebels to maritime transport in the region.
According to the economic daily, the group took this decision last week, taking into account these threats to its crews and the risk of oil spills in the region in the event of attacks.
Contacted by AFP, a Shell spokesperson declined to comment.
On Tuesday, a new ship, Greek, was hit by a missile fired by the Yemeni group as it headed towards the Suez Canal. This ship and others belonging to the same fleet have stopped in Israel since October 7.
Nearly thirty ships have been the subject of fire or attacks by the Houthis since the end of November.
The Yemeni Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, have in recent weeks increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships they suspect of being linked to Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza facing the war between the Islamist movement Hamas and Israel.
The attacks in the Red Sea, through which 12% of world trade passes, prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to strike rebels in Yemen on Friday and Saturday, who responded on Monday by firing a missile against an American cargo ship, without causing injuries or major damage.
The Houthi attacks have forced many shipowners to avoid the area and take a longer route around the tip of Africa, at the cost of increased transport costs and longer delivery times.
Among oil companies, BP and QatarEnergy have already announced to avoid the Red Sea from now on, with Danish shipping giant Maersk also making a similar decision.
Present at the World Economic Forum in Davos (eastern Switzerland), Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani estimated that the escalation in the Red Sea will have an impact on the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“There are alternative routes, but these routes […] are less efficient than the current route” via the Red Sea, underlined the Qatari prime minister, whose country is one of the largest LNG producers in the world.