Why This Shipping Route Is One of the World’s Most Dangerous | WSJ

The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping waterways in the world, but the Israel-Hamas War has helped it also become one of the most dangerous. The Bab-el Mandeb Strait, or the Gate of Tears, is a vital passageway for ships traveling through the Suez Canal, but recent attacks from Houthis are creating a major maritime choke point.

WSJ explains how the cargo industry is responding to try and guard against attacks from the Houthis in Yemen.

0:00 The Gate of Tears
0:54 Houthi attacks in Yemen
2:33 Defending against attacks
3:11 What’s next?

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This strait is called the Barra Mandab, meaning the gate of tears. Vessels have to go through the passage to get to the Suez Canal which handles about 12% of world trade and is a major maritime choke point. But this is also one of the most dangerous shipping areas on the globe.

In the months following the Hamas Israel war, a commercial ship was hijacked here. Another was targeted by a drone here and these circles represent other attacks by militants on boats in the strategic zone. Avoiding it means adding thousands of nautical miles by traveling around the cape at the bottom of Africa,

An expensive and time consuming venture. Instead, some vessels are looking to bolster security to avoid disruption in the Red Sea and mitigate against delays that could see consumer prices rise. Here’s how recent attacks on commercial vessels in the key waterway have been launched by the Houthis,

An Iran backed militant group in Yemen. The Houthis are using positions next to the Bar Al Mandab to target merchant vessels in what it says is a response to the Hamas Israel war. They have attacked boats with missiles with drones and in one case

Seized a boat in a very dramatic heist. This body. Cam footage shows the moment’s armed militants land a helicopter on the deck of a cargo ship before storming into the bridge. The vessel was traveling on the Red Sea.

A vital passage for shipping goods through the Suez Canal from Asia into Europe to the rest of the world. More than 20% of all the containers that move around the world by sea go through Suez about 10% of crude oil, lots of cars, chemicals liquefied natural gas, all sorts.

But the attacks led major shipping companies including mask and Har Park Lloyd to suspend operations in the area. Instead they are sending ships via the cape of good hope in South Africa. However, this route is much longer and costs more in fuel taking on average

43 days resulting in higher prices for businesses. The Red Sea routes by contrast takes 34 days in any war or conflict involving, involving countries with the coastline. Shipping companies are faced with a question. Do they want to keep on operating in those waters? Are not?

And this is a dangerous industry at times but some people with the gauntlet and can be rewarded for doing so. Merchant ships traveling through the region on both routes have faced danger before this Saudi owned oil tanker was hijacked far off the coast of Kenya by pirates in 2008.

It came amid a spate of other attacks by Somali pirates, complicating red sea shipping lanes and forcing the industry to bolster defenses. Vessels constructed barbed wire, fencing, dispersed water cannons and installed high pitched acoustic devices. Others even worked with floating arsenals where weaponry could be picked up on routes.

But those defenses will be largely useless against the attacks being launched by the Houthis. It’s the first time that merchant vessels have been targeted by anti ship ballistic missiles. According to us officials, some are taking precautions to try and reduce the danger of some, for example, turning off their signals,

Trackers used on vessels to be visible to each other during navigation by turning them off. Vessels are trying to remain undetected. Others have changed their destination signal to a message saying armed guards on board shipping companies are also turning to

Security analysts for advice on dealing with another new threat drone attacks. This is a revolution in the nature of war that played out in Ukraine and is now at play in the Red Sea as well.

The one possible measure is learning how to spot drones as they are in coming early so that a ship could then sail to a safe location. But for now, one of the safest ways for vessels to travel through the waterway is to lean on help from allied militaries.

The US led multinational task force moved to the area in December to escort vessels and shoot down projectiles. However, attacks continued. This footage released by the Israeli military is said to show a Houthi target flying over the Red Sea US.

Officials said among the challenges to striking Houthi targets is that many of their weapons systems are mobile. That’s leading to fears of widespread disruption to trade flows that could worsen inflation by boosting prices for goods and energy. Ultimately, if it continues, it will lead to higher prices.

The ships that for example, move uh move containers, they’ve been tied up for longer on these voyages. So the shipping companies are already charging more per day to charter out their boats to move containers and that will feed through to consumers that there’s no way that this gets absorbed

By the supply chain. The US is looking at different options to try and end the trouble in the waterway. One is a more forceful military response measures that could take out the Houthis military capabilities at their root. Another is diplomacy and I, you know,

A lot of people say that ultimately the best way to stop this becoming a crisis is to pursue diplomacy. Saudi Arabia, a key US partner in the Middle East, for example, is in talks with the Houthis about ending the civil war in Yemen, halting attacks in the Red Sea.

And in turn helping the world continue with global trade could be another item on the agenda during those negotiations.