Eighteen shipping companies re-routing around Africa amid Red Sea attacks: UN

Eighteen shipping companies are re-routing their vessels around Africa to avoid the Red Sea amid an upsurge in attacks on shipping, blamed by Western countries on Yemen's Houthi rebels, the UN's maritime agency said Wednesday.

Arsenio Dominguez, Int’l Maritime Organization Chief said "A significant number of companies, around 18 shipping companies, have already decided to reroute their vessels around South Africa in order to reduce the attacks on vessels and of course the impact that has on seafarers in particular. This represents an additional 10 days to the journeys and of course that's also a negative impact on trade and on increasing freight rates."

The Houthis have escalated their attacks on Israel-linked ships since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, demanding that food and medicine aid be allowed to enter the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.