As of: January 26, 2024, 1:33 p.m
By: Christiane Kühl, Peter Sieben
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Large shipping companies avoid the Red Sea.
This paralyzes global supply chains.
The EU wants to intervene now.
But experts believe that this alone is not enough to be a turning point.
Berlin – The Red Sea is now something of a no-go area.
Houthi rebels have been repeatedly attacking merchant ships for months.
Global supply chains are severely disrupted.
A military coalition now wants to end this - but that could take many months, believes Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) initiative.
“This won’t be over in two or three months.
The coalition will have to stay on site for a long time,” says Schindler in an interview with
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
It is not enough to destroy the Houthi rebels' missiles, drones and weapons.
“You have to secure the area to such an extent that global shipping companies regain confidence in their ships sailing there.”
Houthi rebels in the Red Sea: “Coalition will have to stay on site for a long time”
Large shipping companies such as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and Cosco no longer allow ships to sail there.
Many are currently taking alternative routes around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope - this can add weeks to journey times and cause the prices for shipped goods to skyrocket.
Officially, the Islamist Houthis want to support Hamas in the war in Israel.
But: “It is by no means only directed against ships that go to Israeli ports.
“They attack everything that moves there in order to endanger the global flow of goods,” says Schindler.
In view of this danger, the EU states have now reached a political agreement in principle to launch a military operation to secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
The operation is scheduled to start next month.
EU military operation planned in the Red Sea against Houthi rebels
To this end, European warships and airborne early warning systems are to be sent to the region to protect cargo ships.
Participation in the ongoing US attacks against Houthi positions in Yemen is not planned.
Germany also wants to take part in the EU operation and send the frigate “Hessen” – provided that the Bundestag issues a corresponding mandate after the EU planning has been completed.
The “Hessen” is equipped, among other things, with anti-aircraft missiles and is specially designed for escort and maritime control.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) recently called for preparations for the planned EU military operation to be completed quickly.
With the attacks by the Houthi rebels, one of the central arteries of free shipping and thus also of world trade is being attacked.
German companies in China, for example, are also feeling this, as they often have the goods they produce there transported through the Red Sea to Europe.
Companies are worried, said Ulf Reinhardt, CEO of the German Chamber of Commerce in China on Wednesday when presenting the current AHK business climate index.
The situation is very worrying.
“It affects the freight rates for containers, shipping routes and journey times.” In China in particular, people still remember the country’s zero-Covid policy.
Back then, too, freight prices skyrocketed and gigantic ship traffic jams formed in front of the major ports.
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Iran uses Houthi rebels as a means to an end
The Houthis are supported by the Iranians, who use the Yemeni rebels as a means to an end, according to Hans-Jakob Schindler: "One of the Iranians' goals is to severely disrupt and bleed their rivals, the Saudis." Saudi Arabia borders Yemen and fights the Houthi rebels.
The Iranians, in turn, see Saudi Arabia as competition in the Middle East.
“Iran supports the Houthis in the conflict in Yemen just enough so that they cannot lose, but cannot win either,” says Hans-Jakob Schindler.
The Iranians regularly supply the Yemeni militia with weapons and technology.
(with dpa)