BP to pause Red Sea shipping transits over security concerns

Oil and gas giant BP announced on Monday that it would temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea.

"In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits," a statement from the company said.

"We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region," it added.

On Monday, Hapag-Lloyd also announced that it would re-route several ships until safe passage through the Red Sea could be guaranteed, as did Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen. This follows similar steps taken by some companies last week.

On Friday, Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk had announced that it was pausing container shipments through the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen until further notice. 

That decision was made a day after one of its ships suffered a near-miss, and as another vessel belonging to Germany's Hapag-Lloyd sustained damage but no injuries.

Several major freight companies — including MSC —  have started sailing around Africa, a trip which adds to costs and causes delays. These issues are expected to be compounded over the coming weeks, according to industry experts.

Red Sea shipping targeted by Houthis

There has been an increase in attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea in recent weeks by Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

The attacks come as a proxy response to Israel's continued war in Gaza against the Tehran-backed Islamist militant group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the EU, US and several countries. 

The Houthis have said they will target any ships traveling to Israel, and have been launching almost daily attacks, although most are unsuccessful, and are targeting vessels traversing the Red Sea with little or no connection to Israel.

kb/fb (AFP, Reuters)