Red Sea still a no-go for ships

The largest commercial shipping companies continue to avoid the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, despite a recent ceasefire agreement between the United States and Houthis intended to make the trade lanes safer.

- PETER EAVIS

The ceasefire, which began May 6, ended a US campaign that involved more than 1,100 strikes against the Houthis in Yemen and became a source of embarrassment for the Trump administration after group chats about the strikes inadvertently became public. The Pentagon had planned on a months-long bombardment, but President Donald Trump ended it after about 50 days.

"If the intention was to restore freedom of navigation, which is what they stated it was, then the results speak for themselves: The shipping industry has not gone back," said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd's List, a shipping publication.

Ship traffic through the Red Sea is down by around three-fifths since 2023 when the Houthis started targeting ships there in solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, Mr Meade said. Fearing that their vessels would be struck, big shipping companies avoided the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, taking a much longer route around the southern tip of Africa to travel between Asia and Europe.

The Houthis have said they are still at war with Israel and will attack vessels bound for the country. Though the Houthis have not attacked a commercial vessel since December, shipping companies say they worry their vessels may be hit, deliberately or mistakenly, and have no plans to sail the southern part of the Red Sea anytime soon.