EMEA News
Yemen's Houthis to Narrow Scope of Ship Attacks After Gaza Ceasefire
Yemen's Houthi movement is set to narrow the scope of its attacks on commercial shipping following the ceasefire deal implemented in Gaza over the weekend.
Attacks from now on will focus on Israel-flagged or wholly Israeli-owned ships, the Houthis' Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center said on Sunday.
For more than a year, the Houthi movement has been carrying out attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Most leading shipping companies have diverted their vessels away from Yemen as a result, meaning the Suez Canal cannot be used and ships must consume more fuel on longer voyages around Africa.
There is unlikely to be an instant mass shift of shipping companies to use Suez again, but this may emerge gradually over the year if the ceasefire holds. This would prompt a fall in overall global bunker demand, and in particular a drop in demand at African ports and a rise in the Mediterranean.
