Product tanker owner Torm has decided today to pause all transits through the southern Red Sea following the escalation of attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
Torm told Argus the diversions will remain until further notice, joining shipowners including Belgian tanker owner Euronav in avoiding the area. The decision could be taken by more vessel owners as security risks increase in the region in the wake of the escalating attacks by Yemen's Houthi militant group.
Last night, the US and the UK carried out air and missile strikes against Houthi facilities in Yemen that the allies say were used to attack commercial shipping and naval vessels in the Red Sea. The US-led action follows a warning by Washington and its allies on 3 January for the Houthis to stop targeting commercial ships or face a military escalation. The Houthi disregarded the warning and on 9 January carried out their most sophisticated attack yet, targeting a US warship in the Red Sea.
Iran this week seized a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, creating a further flashpoint in an already perilous regional shipping sector.
Clean tanker diversions around the Cape of Good Hope had halted at the end of December, with most preferring to use the Suez Canal again, according to data from Vortexa. Two of the world's largest shipowners, Danish Maersk and German Hapag-Lloyd extended diversions away from the Suez Canal after the start of US-backed naval response Operation Prosperity Guardian did not fully deter attacks by the Houthi.
