Chinese Cosco Shipping will stop delivering cargo to Israel – Kommersant

Chinese state-owned container carrier Cosco Shipping will stop delivering cargo to Israeli ports due to increased attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The company notified the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce about this, reports Bloomberg.

The Houthis announced in mid-November that they would carry out strikes against Israeli targets, including the country’s commercial shipping. And on December 9, a Houthi spokesman said the movement would also prevent the passage of ships heading to Israel, regardless of which country they belong to.

On December 14, the Yemeni Houthis fired a missile at the container ship Maersk Gibraltar, which was en route from Salalah (Oman) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). There was no hit and the crew was not injured. On December 15, a shell of unknown origin hit the Hapag-Lloyd Al Jasrah, causing a fire on board. Following this, a missile fired from a drone hit the container ship MSC Palatium III. In response to increasing Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, the United States and its allies launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect shipping in the Red Sea. On the possible holding of a pan-European mission in the region today, January 8, stated Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell.

The day before, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated20% of global shipping is disrupted by Houthi attacks on ships. The ruling movement in northern Yemen is Ansar Allah (Houthis) suggested ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Red Sea should be advised that they have no connections with Israel. According to Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, this will help avoid an attack.

Read more about the attacks in the Kommersant article. “Drones aimed at oil”.

Kirill Sarkhanyants