Ocean carriers have been advised to exercise “extreme caution” following the expanded threats from Yemen’s Houthi militia to include all ships linked to companies that call at Israeli ports, including Haifa.

Destine Ozuygur, chief analyst at maritime platform eeSea, described this development as a “turning point”, with the target net significantly broadened. “They’re threatening any ships of any company that makes active calls to Israel, regardless of whether that specific string calls Israel so that is a huge net,” she remarked.

This recent announcement comes just two months after the Houthis signaled a move toward de-escalation by pausing their 18-month Red Sea campaign. Carriers like Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Yang Ming, and CMA CGM are now in the crosshairs, even if they do not directly service Israel.

Services between Asia and Europe are considered high risk, particularly those linked to Israel. Among the Asia-Europe services most likely to be affected are PMR-MD3, PMR-MD1, and Zim-ZMP, all of which call at Haifa. Evergreen’s EMC-LEV, along with several Ocean Alliance strings on the Arabian/Persion Gulf, and Premier Alliance FE5 and AG1 strings, along with MSC’s Chinook-Clanga and New Falcon services could potentially be exposed to increased threats.

Source: The Loadstar