According to Reuters, traffic through the Red Sea has increased by 60% since August 2024, reaching around 36–37 ships per day.
However, according to Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis, commander of the EU’s Aspides naval operation, this is still well below pre-crisis levels, before Yemen’s Houthi movement began targeting commercial vessels in the area.
Gryparis explained that the number of ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait has increased after Houthi missile and drone attacks slowed, along with a ceasefire agreement reached between the United States and the rebel group.
While the traffic has recovered, he noted, it is still far below the average of 72–75 vessels per day recorded before the Houthi campaign began in November 2023 in support of Palestinians in the Israel-Gaza war. At its lowest point in August 2023, traffic had dropped to just 20–23 vessels per day.
The group has narrowed its targeting, Gryparis said, publicly stating that it only targets vessels that are Israeli-owned, have links to Israel, or have visited Israeli ports.
“If your vessel doesn’t meet those criteria, there’s a more than 99% chance you won’t be targeted by the Houthis,” he said. However, he cautioned that there can be no absolute guarantees of safety for merchant vessels.
Mr Gryparis added that some shipping companies were still hesitant to use the route due to the limited number of Aspides ships available for escort, which could lead to delays of up to a week.
To date, Mr Gryparis said, Aspides has closely protected 476 commercial vessels, intercepted 18 drones, disabled two remotely operated attack boats and destroyed four ballistic missiles.
Reuters
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