Following the recent attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the British oil giant, British Petroleum (BP), announced on Monday the suspension of all its ship crossings in the Red Sea, mirroring the actions of several major maritime transport companies worldwide.
In a statement received by the French news agency, BP stated, “Due to the deteriorating security situation for maritime transport in the Red Sea, British Petroleum has temporarily suspended all crossings in the Red Sea.”
The Houthi rebels had targeted two container ships off the coast of Yemen last Friday, which were headed for Israel, as announced in their statement.
This comes after a series of similar attacks since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
The Houthi rebels are targeting ships travelling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait – also known as the Gate of Tears – which is a channel 20 miles (32km) wide, and known for being perilous to navigate.
The rebels have declared their support for Hamas and have said they are targeting ships travelling to Israel, using drones and rockets against foreign-owned vessels.
Instead of using the Bab al-Mandab Strait, ships will now have to take a longer route navigating around southern Africa, potentially adding about 10 days to the journey and costing millions of dollars.
