As of: January 23, 2024, 4:28 a.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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A Houthi propaganda video shows an attack by Yemeni rebels on the ship “Galaxy Leader” last November.
© AFP
Despite attacks by the Houthi rebels, shipping companies continue to sail through the Red Sea.
Sailors rely on unusual methods to protect themselves.
Sanaa - Despite the constant threat from Houthi rebels, many shipping companies continue to choose the Red Sea route to save fuel costs and gain time.
Smaller companies in particular see no alternative to this passage.
They are willing to accept the risk for their crews.
In order to avoid falling into the crosshairs of the radical Islamist terrorist group, the sailors are now apparently resorting to some unconventional methods.
Fear in the Red Sea: Ship crews send direct messages to Houthi rebels
They send direct messages and tips to the Houthi rebels.
Instead of information about their destination, the tracking systems used to track the current positions of merchant ships increasingly contain messages such as “No contact with Israel”, “Armed guard on board” or “Chinese crew only”.
This is reported by the US news portal
The Daily Beast
.
Marco Forgione, director general at the Institute of Export & International Trade, told the newspaper that while some crews have disabled sending maritime data, numerous other ship crews are using the encrypted message tactic.
The journey through the Red Sea has become a dangerous undertaking for weeks.
The Houthi rebels from Yemen are attacking international merchant ships in the strait in solidarity with Hamas in the Israel War - allegedly to stop arms deliveries to Israel.
Western secret services suspect that the terrorist militia is controlled and supported by Iran.
They assume that the regime in Tehran is supplying the rockets for the attacks and providing the militia with the relevant ship data.
The US has already formed an international coalition and, together with partners such as the UK, has deployed warships to the region to protect merchant shipping.
Despite direct attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen, sea battles continue to break out.
Large shipping companies such as the Danish company Maersk are therefore bypassing the conflict region and choosing the route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, despite the higher transport costs.
However, this is putting increasing pressure on smaller shipping companies.
Some of them continue to sail through the Red Sea.
Attacks in the Red Sea: Houthi militia wants to spare German ships
Whether their strategy of sending messages to the Houthis is successful remains to be seen.
The rebels had previously announced that they would spare ships from friendly countries.
This primarily meant Russian and Chinese freighters, as both countries are on Iran's side.
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Surprisingly, the Houthi militia expanded the circle to include German ships on Monday (January 22).
Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, Houthi governor of Dhamar province, said in an interview with German news channel
RTL/ntv
: “Chinese and Russian ships are not in our sights.
They are not targets.
Not even German ships.” He added: “All ships in the world are safe, of course with the exception of those connected to the Zionist regime of Israel.”
Houthis from Yemen are relying on a new strategy
However, he did not provide a concrete reason why he now wanted to spare German ships.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) declared support for Israel to be a reason of state.
However, security experts see the Houthis' portrayal as a targeted propaganda strategy.
“The Houthis calculate that a media campaign explaining their actions in the Red Sea will bolster their legitimacy in Yemen, even in areas over which they do not rule,” said Jonas Ecke, a geopolitical analyst and humanitarian adviser Demand from ntv.
However, shipping companies should not hope for a complete turnaround by the Houthis.
The terrorist militia announced on Monday that it would intensify its actions in the Red Sea.
(
jkf
)
Editor Jens Kiffmeier wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.