Red Sea marine traffic up 60% after Houthis narrowed targets, EU commander says
Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission.
The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the U.S. and the rebel group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.
But shipping traffic, which reached a low of 20-23 ships daily in August last year, is still short of an average of 72-75 ships a day seen before the Houthis began attacks in the Red Sea in November in 2023 in support of Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza, said Gryparis.
The mission, which was established to safeguard navigation in the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Asia through the Suez Canal, was extended in February when it was also tasked with tracking illegal arms shipments and monitoring vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil.
The last attack on a merchant ship took place in November 2024 and the Houthis have also narrowed their objectives, saying their targets are Israeli ships and ships that have a connection with Israel or have docked at an Israeli port, Gryparis said.
"If you have a vessel that does not correspond to this criteria... there is a huge possibility - more than 99% - that you're not going to be targeted by the Houthis," Gryparis said.
Still, Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won't be attacked.
Some companies have been deterred from using the route because of the mission's lack of ships, which can cause delays of as much as a week for those seeking to be escorted through the area, he said.
He said the mission has between two and three ships operating at one time and has requested the EU provide it with 10 ships to increase its capacity for protection.
The mission has provided close protection to 476 ships, shot down 18 drones, destroyed two remote-controlled boats used to attack ships and intercepted four ballistic missiles, he said.
(Reporting by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
9 hours ago
- The National
Gaza ceasefire talks intensify as Trump suggests a deal may be within reach
Gaza ceasefire talks being held in Cairo have moved up a gear, with US President Donald Trump saying an agreement could be reached within a week and mediator Qatar speaking of a window of opportunity that should be seized. Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing on Friday of a peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Mr Trump said he had spoken earlier with people involved in brokering the previous truce in the 20-month Israel-Gaza war. 'We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire,' he said without elaborating. In Qatar, which has been mediating in the conflict together with the US and Egypt, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said negotiators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from this week's Israel-Iran ceasefire and work towards a Gaza truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas -led groups. 'If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost among many in the near past. We don't want to see that again,' he told AFP in an interview. "We have seen US pressure and what it can accomplish," he said, referring to a truce agreed in January. The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a new ceasefire after that truce collapsed on March 18 when Israel resumed military operations, two weeks after it ordered a halt to relief aid entering the coastal strip where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger and shortages of basic items. Mr Trump did not explain why he was optimistic about reaching a truce soon. The US has said several times previously that a deal was within reach, only for the talks to reach a deadlock as both Israel and Hamas stuck to their conditions. Sources familiar with the peace effort in Cairo told The National that the talks have gathered pace in recent days, with US envoy Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American, engaging intense conversations with the Egyptian mediators and senior Hamas officials who have been in Cairo since Monday. Mr Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in the region early next week, when he will visit Egypt, Israel and Qatar, according to the sources. A mid-level Israeli official was in Cairo earlier this week and senior negotiators from the Mossad spy agency and military were expected soon, the sources said. There has been no confirmation of this yet from the Israeli government. The sources told The National earlier this week that the proposals on the table to pause the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza were not significantly different from those discussed in previous rounds. However, the current discussions are centred on modifying those proposals to provide for a "comprehensive accord" to be negotiated during a proposed 60-day truce, which includes a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, they said on Saturday. However, Israel remained reluctant to agree at present to anything beyond a temporary truce and the release of all the hostages, they said. Additionally, Israel continues to demand a security presence in Gaza as well as the complete dismantling of Hamas's military and governing capacities. Hamas has meanwhile shown some flexibility over the timeline for the initial release of 10 living hostages and the remains of half of those who died while in captivity, as provided for in the proposals, said the sources. Hamas still holds about 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, according to Israel's military. Hamas had previously said it wanted to stagger the release of the 10 living hostages over the 60-day truce to ensure Israel's compliance with the deal. Israel rejected this, insisting all 10 must be freed the day the truce goes into effect. Hamas also wants Israel to remove its troops from designated land corridors for the delivery and distribution of aid to Gazans, the sources said. It also insists that a proposed commission of independent Palestinian technocrats start running the war-battered enclave the day the truce goes into force. The sources said proposals for Hamas to lay down its arms and keep them in storage, as well as the departure from Gaza of senior Hamas officials to live in exile, are still on the negotiating table. The group is open to both conditions, but categorically refusing to disarm, and will agree to the exile of some of its leaders only if Israel guarantees not to target them. The Gaza war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Israel responded with a devastating military campaign that has killed more that 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that number, according to authorities in Gaza. The fighting has also displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million residents and reduced much of its built-up area to rubble.
Khaleej Times
17 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump says Gaza ceasefire is close, possible within a week
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he believes it is possible that a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas group will be reached within a week. Trump, at an Oval Office event celebrating a Congo-Rwanda accord, told reporters that he believes a ceasefire is close. He said he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's post-Oct.7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has picked up steam in the wake of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week. "I think it's close. I just spoke to some of the people involved," Trump said. "We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire." He did not say who he has been talking to, but he has told reporters he was in near-daily contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israel-Iran conflict. Trump's surprise prediction of a possible ceasefire deal in coming days came at a time when there have been few signs that the warring parties were ready to restart serious negotiations or budge from entrenched positions. A spokesperson for US special envoy Steve Witkoff's office said they had no information to share beyond Trump's comments. Witkoff helped former President Joe Biden's aides broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement shortly before Trump took office in January but the deal soon unravelled. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer plans to visit Washington starting on Monday for talks with Trump administration officials about Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter. Netanyahu said on Thursday the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste. "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm," Netanyahu said in a statement.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Trump says ceasefire in Gaza possible within 'next week'
President Donald Trump on Friday said he expects a ceasefire in the war in Gaza to be reached within a week. Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing of a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda, Mr Trump said he had earlier been speaking with people involved in reaching a truce in the 20-month-old war. 'We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire,' he said. He added that the US was supplying money and food to the war ravaged coastal enclave. 'We're involved because people are dying and I look at those crowds of people that have no food, no anything, and we're the ones that are getting it there,' he said. Mr Trump's comments follow months of stalled efforts to bring an end to the war in Gaza that ignited on October 7, 2023, after the Iranian-backed group Hamas attacked Israel. It also comes days after the Trump administration conducted strikes on Iran's three nuclear sites. At least 54,084 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the war's start, and much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble. A brief ceasefire that was reached in January – a day before Mr Trump took office – collapsed in March. Israel moved to block the entry of food aid and assistance, compounding the suffering of the approximately two million Gaza residents who are facing dire food shortages. The Trump administration advanced the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private aid group, to address the concerns over famine in the Strip. But the group has drawn intense scrutiny after scenes of chaos and bloodshed unfolded at aid distribution sites. Since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near GHF its four aid centres while seeking food, according to local health authorities. The GHF, backed by Israel and the US, has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. They say they've handed out more than 46 million meals. The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, calling them a 'death trap.' 'The new aid distribution system has become a killing field,' said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA). 'This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including UNRWA,' he wrote on X. The US State Department on Thursday said that it is providing $30 million in direct funding to the group. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday published a report quoting unnamed soldiers saying they were ordered to deliberately fire live bullets at crowds near distribution centres to disperse them, even when they posed no threat.
