BP in turn suspends “all transits” through the Red Sea

Tension is at its height in the Red Sea. The British hydrocarbon giant BP announced on Monday that it was suspending “all transits” through the Red Sea. A decision which comes at a time when attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels are increasing in the area and the main shipowners have temporarily given up on this “motorway of the sea” as well as its famous Suez Canal, where 20,000 ships pass through each year. .

“Given the deterioration of the security situation for maritime transport in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily suspend all transits via the Red Sea,” the group said in a statement sent to AFP. “The safety and security of our employees and those who work on our behalf is BP’s priority,” added the company, which also said that this pause will be constantly reassessed “based on circumstances as they evolve In the region".

The Danish Maersk, the German Hapag-Lloyd, the French CMA CGM and the Italian-Swiss MSC had announced in recent days that their ships would no longer use the Red Sea “until further notice”, at least until until Monday or until passage “is safe”. In recent weeks, Yemeni rebels, close to Iran, have increased attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, and through which 40% of international trade passes.

The Houthis have warned they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Several missiles and drones were shot down by warships patrolling the area.

An explosion occurred on Monday on this maritime route off the coast of Yemen, two maritime security agencies said. On Saturday, a US destroyer shot down more than a dozen drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the Red Sea, the US military said. The head of French diplomacy Catherine Colonna, visiting Israel, declared on Sunday that the attacks in the Red Sea perpetrated by Houthi rebels from Yemen “cannot remain unanswered”.

Concerns about supply difficulties via the Red Sea trade route, coupled with the weakness of the dollar, pushed oil prices higher on Monday.