By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-27

Shipping giants have signaled their readiness to resume transit through the Red Sea following the launch of US-led naval operation to protect ships in the strategic waterway.

On Tuesday (December 26), France's CMA CGM said it is increasing the number of vessels traveling through the Suez Canal, joining Danish shipping firm Maersk in returning to the area.

Maersk on Sunday said that with the US-led maritime security initiative under way, it is preparing "to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea both eastbound and westbound."

"We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible," Maersk said in a statement.

Other shipping giants including Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd, as well as energy giant BP, have been avoiding the Red Sea route because of the increased threat of attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis.

Ships have been rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, a longer and more expensive journey. The Suez Canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe.

On Tuesday, Hapag-Lloyd said it would re-assess the situation in the Red Sea on Wednesday before deciding how to proceed.

Although security measures had been put in place, "the overall risk in the area is not eliminated at this stage," Maersk said in the statement.

"Maersk will not hesitate to re-evaluate the situation and once again initiate diversion plans if we deem it necessary for the safety of our seafarers," it added.

Maritime coalition

The suspensions come amid heightened efforts on the part of the United States to build a maritime coalition to protect ships in the strategic waterway.

More than a dozen countries have so far joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international task force to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The coalition includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Seychelles, among others.

European Union (EU) member states have also agreed to contribute to the alliance through the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told journalists on December 21 that the Houthis are "attacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world," effectively becoming "bandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea."

Coalition forces will "serve as a highway patrol of sorts, patrolling the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to -- and assist as necessary -- commercial vessels that are transiting this vital international waterway," he said.

"It's a defensive coalition meant to reassure global shipping and mariners that the international community is there to help with safe passage," he said.

US forces down drones

The Houthis have escalated attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks, imperiling a transit route that carries up to 12% of global trade.

US forces recently shot down more than a dozen attack drones and several missiles fired by the Houthis at shipping in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

"There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries," the Pentagon's Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post, describing a barrage of 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles over a period of 10 hours.

In a statement, the Houthis said they "carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship" they identified as MSC UNITED, and launched a number of "drones against military targets".

Also earlier on Tuesday, explosions were heard and missiles were sighted near a vessel transiting near the port of al-Hodeidah on Yemen's west coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding that the ship and its crew are safe.

The ship later continued its voyage, without reporting any major damage or crew injuries, UKMTO said.

Explosions were likewise heard off the coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, Egyptian state-linked media said.

A drone was downed near the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Dahab, security officials told Reuters, but no casualties have been reported.

The Egyptian air force earlier this month shot down a drone that had been detected over Egypt's territorial waters, also near Dahab.

Iran targets ship in Indian Ocean

Separately, a US warship, the Laboon, shot down four attack drones "originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen" on Saturday, CENTCOM said in a post on X.

No injuries or damage was reported.

An attack drone also came close to a Norwegian-flagged tanker, MV Blaamanen, it said, while another tanker, the Indian-flagged MV Saibaba, was "hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported."

Meanwhile, the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into Red Sea shipping lanes Saturday with "no ships reported being impacted," CENTCOM said.

According to the Pentagon, the Houthis have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries.

India on Monday said it is deploying three warships and reconnaissance aircraft in the Arabian Sea to "maintain a deterrent presence."

Three guided-missile destroyers as well as P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft were being deployed following "the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea," it said in a statement.

Washington accused Tehran of carrying out a drone attack on Saturday on the Liberian-flagged and Japanese-owned MV Chem Pluto tanker 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of India.

It was the first time Washington has openly accused Iran of directly targeting ships since the start of the war in Gaza.

On Saturday, an official in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned of the forced closure of other waterways in the region.

The United States "and its allies should expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways," Mohammad Reza Naqdi was quoted by Iran's Tasnim news agency as saying.

Among the waterways he mentioned was the Mediterranean Sea, but he did not elaborate, AFP reported.