More than 60% of maritime cargo that used to pass through Egypt's Suez Canal will now pass through southern Africa amid tensions in the Red Sea. This was stated by the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez in an interview with the agency AFP 11 February.
Dominguez also noted rising ship insurance costs, increased fuel costs and increased workload for seafarers due to Houthi attacks on ships.
The Houthis began attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November to protest Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. On the night of January 12, in response to their actions, the United States and Great Britain launched an attack on Houthi targets. The White House said the strikes on movement-controlled areas of the country were defensive in nature. It was also claimed at the time that the strikes were carried out to protect international courts.
February 5th Bloomberg reported that Egypt's revenues from the Suez Canal in January fell by almost half – to $428 million. It was noted that a record drop in Egypt's revenues could worsen the economic crisis in the country.
After this, on February 7, UN chief Antonio Guterres, at the plenary meeting of the 78th session of the General Assembly, said that the volume of goods transported through the Suez Canal decreased by 42% due to an attack by the Yemeni Houthis on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
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