HOUTHI representatives said the Yemeni-based group would no longer target US- and UK-owned, managed and flagged ships from January 19, after “the cessation of aggression on the Gaza Strip”.
The Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, through which the Houthis communicate with merchant shipping, said in an email distributed around 5pm London time on Sunday that it was “stopping the sanctions imposed on vessels listed on ban lists”.
Global trade through the Red Sea trade corridor has plunged by 60% over the past 14 months — most of it Western-linked tonnage — since Houthis began attacking ships it claimed were linked to aggression against Palestinians.
The Houthis attacked more than 134 ships over 12 months using fast attack craft, uncrewed surface vessels, drones, and ballistic, cruise and anti-ship missiles supplied by Iran and China amid increased collaboration with terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, according to a UN Security Council Panel of Experts report on Yemen published in October.
The email, addressed to shipowners, managers, government authorities, marine insurers, unions and shipping representative groups, said that the “military operations” of the Yemeni Armed Forces (how the Houthis reference themselves) were linked to events in Gaza.
Read Full Article Lloyd's List
https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1152274/Houthis-announce-partial-stop-to-Red-Sea-attacks
