The geopolitical tension and trade uncertainty emanating from the conflict in the Middle East will be significantly ramped up if maritime traffic in the Red Sea is also affected, Thomas Castrel, the General Representative of Flanders to Southern Africa has said.
Castrel, who is also involved with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, a developmental partner of port improvements in South Africa, said it was concerned that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were threatening to close off the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Since November 2023, the choke point between the Horn of Africa and Saudi Arabian peninsula, became a flash point for commercial vessels sailing between the Mediterranean and Asia.
But successful peace talks last year saw a trickle of leading line vessels returning to the Suez Canal, among them Maersk, widely regarded as one of the risk-averse ocean carriers.
Speaking at the National Transport Conference in Midrand, Castrel warned that the global economic impact of disrupted sea freight in the Strait of Hormuz because of the Persian Gulf war, would be significantly increased if the Red Sea yet again became a no-go zone for maritime traffic.
On Tuesday morning, news agency Tass reported that Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement – the Houthis – might block the Mandeb Strait if a decision was made to provide military support to Iran.
This is according to an official of the Houthi military forces, Abed al-Thawr.
"Once the decision to intervene is made, the first measure could be the official declaration of a naval blockade against the United States and the Zionist regime,” he said.
“Merchant vessels and warships, including aircraft carriers, destined for the US soil and the occupied territories (meaning Israel) could therefore be stopped," he said on Saturday as quoted by Press TV.
Al-Thawr stressed that the Houthis were considering a complete closure of Bab el-Mandeb to any ships bound for Israeli ports.
Closure of the important Strait could significantly impact efforts to reroute supply chain links with the Persian Gulf, where ports such as Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates are feeling the impact of cargo not flowing.
Because of the situation ocean logistics in the Persian Gulf finds itself in, Saudi Arabia has initiated multimodal freight-link alternatives via Red Sea ports such as Jeddah and King Fahd.
If the Houthis resume attacks on vessels in the vicinity of Bab el-Mandeb, it could scupper efforts for the time being to reconfigure supply chain for Middle East countries affected by the war.
