Manufacturers have been left with no other choice than to prepare and plan for longer wait times as freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways, the Red Sea, has been endangered.

The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked what they say are Israel-linked commercial vessels since November, disrupting maritime trade routes.

They claimed that the attacks are a response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Unfortunately, the group has threatened to expand the range of targets of its attacks in the Red Sea to include US ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.

Nippon Yusen, the shipping company which operates the Galaxy Leader ship seized by Yemen’s Houthis on November 19, has announced that it is suspending operations in the Red Sea.

A spokesperson for the Japanese firm – also known as NYK Line – told a news agency that it was joining other companies in suspending operations in the region to “ensure the safety of crews.”

The spokesperson also said the company is “worried about” the fate of Galaxy Leader’s 25-member crew, but has “received no information.”

In December, Galaxy Maritime Ltd, which co-owns the ship, said the crew, from countries including Bulgaria, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and Ukraine – had been allowed “modest” contact with their families by the Houthis.

Ownership details in public shipping databases have also associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.

Major shipping companies have stopped using the Red Sea, through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes, and are using a much longer route around southern Africa instead,

Huge shipping container companies, including Maersk, are avoiding the Red Sea and sending their ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, a shift that is delaying shipments and raising transport costs.

It adds a week to two weeks to voyages and increases costs for for shipping, fuel and more.

At least 90% of the container ships that had been going through the Suez Canal are now rerouting around the tip of Africa, said Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research for Drewry, a maritime research consultancy.

The delays contributed to a 1.3% decline in world trade in December, reflecting goods stuck on ships rather than being offloaded in port.

UN Calls On Houthis To Stop Attacks In Red Sea

The UN has called on the Houthis to immediately implement a Security Council resolution demanding an end to its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres “reiterated his call to all the parties to avoid any further escalation” in a call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, a UN spokesperson said.

The Security Council passed the resolution on January 10, demanding an end to the Red Sea attacks and the release of the Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader ship that was seized by the Iran-backed group in November.

The US and UK militaries then carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen but the group has continued its attacks on vessels – which it says are in retaliation for Israel’s war on Gaza.

In other developments, the UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in its latest daily update that Gaza has been under a telecommunications blackout for more than four days now.

The latest shutdown of phone and internet services is the seventh time that Israel has cut off these services since October 7, OCHA added, leaving people in Gaza without “lifesaving information” and unable to call first responders.

OCHA also noted that the Deir el-Balah water pipeline – the only water pipeline from Israel into Gaza that is currently working – is urgently in need of urgent repairs.

OCHA added that refusals from Israeli authorities have led to a “stark decline” in humanitarian missions to the north of Gaza.

Since the beginning of January, only 14 percent of planned missions to the north of Wadi Gaza have gone ahead, compared to 86 percent from October to December, OCHA said.