An emergency warning by the Greek Coast Guard has apparently been issued to any ships sailing under the Greek flag or owned by Greek interests that are operating in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to avoid Yemeni waters.
According to Reuters, the warning was issued on Saturday and follows the escalation in maritime attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on the world’s main East-West trade route.
The Coast Guard, in a warning communicated to the foreign and defence ministries, is recommends ships cross the southern Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at night, if possible.
“It is recommended that only essential crew remain on the ship’s bridge, that crew members stay as far as possible from the ship’s exterior, that a fire drill be conducted before the ship reaches the Yemeni coast and that safety equipment is checked,” the document seen by Kathimerini says.
The advisory also suggests that captains can deactivate the automatic identification system (AIS) to protect ships from the risk of piracy.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who state they are supporting Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, have entered the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and even firing drones and missiles at Israel, more than 1,000 miles from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Houthis attacked two commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea on Monday, with these attacks raising the spectre of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the Covid pandemic.
It has also prompted a US-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen.
The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, which creates the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
The canal accounts for about 12% of world shipping traffic transits.
These attacks have led major shippers like Hapag Lloyd, MSC and Maersk, oil major BP and oil tanker group Frontline to decide to avoid the Red Sea route and re-route via southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
There are many ships that are still travelling through this waterwasy, with several of them having armed guards on board.
LSEG shiptracking data has shown that at least 11 container ships, which had passed through Suez and were approaching Yemen carrying consumer goods and grains bound for countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, are now anchored in the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
