Yet another attack on commercial vessels in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden region, this time on the US flagged chemical tanker Torm Thor, again emphasises the difficulty in protecting trading routes from missile and drone attacks.
A Houthi missile found its target some 70 nm south of Aden causing minor damage and a minor injury to a crew member, according to reports from US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The idle container ship fleet has contracted again as the crises in the Red Sea and Panama Canal suck capacity into service diversions and distort the market, as newbuildings arrive to alleviate tonnage crunch.
SeaLead and Blue Water Line are rolling out a new service connecting Indian ports with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman.
Shipping associations have welcomed the European Union’s operation Aspides, a defensive maritime security operation to protect shipping in the Red Sea.
Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder, but few observers would describe the widening chasm that has opened between western and some Middle Eastern interests in the Red Sea as objectively attractive.
Heavy lift outfit Jumbo Offshore will be represented by Sea Horizon offshore in the Middle East under a new agreement between the companies.
Seafarers covered by International Bargaining Forum (IBF) agreements can refuse to sail through the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, but it takes a high level of pre-planning according to ITF head Stephen Cotton.
The shipping industry has united in calling for the immediate release of 25 seafarers on board the Galaxy Leader held hostage by Houthi Rebels for three months now.