Container ships carrying goods for particular companies, including Boeing, have been listed as legitimate targets by the Houthi militia, as the Red Sea crisis drags on.
The Iran-backed Yemeni-based militia issued a statement on Saturday sanctioning 15 companies, including the US aircraft maker, with secondary sanctions on third-party entities having “any form of dealings with [the] companies listed”.
A Houthi spokesperson said: “[Your] fleet will be prohibited from transiting the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the fleet will be subject to targeting wherever reachable by the Yemeni armed forces.”
Among the shipping lines believed to service Boeing are CMA CGM and Maersk, although a spokesperson for the latter would not confirm this was the case and declined to comment on the Houthis statement. CMA CGM is yet to respond to requests for comment from The Loadstar.
However, one source suggested the warning from the Houthis would likely have very few practical implications for carriers. Instead, they described it as a “desperate try by the Houthis make it into the news once in a while”, and that they doubted whether the major shipping lines would be affected.
“And, of course, the container vessels are not transiting the area within the Houthis’ reach right now, anyway,” they told The Loadstar.
In February, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc suggested a return to Red Sea transits could be possible, but there would need to be “full degradation of their [Houthis’] capabilities, or there is some type of deal”.
Focus returned to the Red Sea, and more specifically the Suez Canal, this weekend as President Trump said on his social media channel: “American ships, both military and commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez canals”.
Claiming neither waterway would exist without the US, he tasked secretary of state Marco Rubio to “immediately take care of this”.
Last year, the Egyptian waterway saw revenue fall 60% year on year, recording a loss of $7bn, despite efforts by US and allied forces to hinder Houthi attacks preventing commercial shipping from using the canal.
Taking an entirely non political view In other news at least 70 people were killed and over 1000 injured in a huge explosion at the Shahid Rajaei container hub, at Iran’s largest port, on Saturday. The cause yet is unknown but our thoughts and prayers are with all the people affected by this tragedy.
