TOKYO (AFP) – Japan’s three major shipping firms said yesterday they are joining other major companies in suspending routes through the Red Sea over Huothi rebel attacks on vessels in the vital waterway.
“We have suspended navigation through the Red Sea by all ships we operate,” a spokesman for Nippon Yusen, also known as NYK Line, told AFP, adding the decision was to “ensure the safety of crews”.
Two other major Japanese shipping firms – Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Mitsui OSK Lines – have also suspended navigation through the Red Sea, company spokespersons said.
Since Friday, United States and British forces have been bombing scores of targets inside Huothi-controlled Yemen in response to the attacks by the rebels, who say they are targeting Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza.
The situation has heightened fears of the Israel-Hamas war flaring across the region and disrupted trade in one of the world’s key maritime commercial routes.
The waterway between Asian and European markets normally carries about 12 per cent of global maritime trade.
Diverting around the southern tip of Africa takes longer and is more expensive.
“Vessels which we operate and that were about to enter the Red Sea soon are asked to stay away from entering the Gulf of Aden”, a spokeswoman for Mitsui OSK Lines told AFP.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha’s spokesman Goro Kitamura said the company also “suspended navigation into the Red Sea since Friday”.
