The United States has set up an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea. This was announced by the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin. According to Austin, the Netherlands also participates in the so-called Operation Prosperity Guardian. A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Defense could not yet confirm this.
Retaliation
The Houthis, a rebel group from Yemen, have carried out more than a dozen attacks on ships in the Red Sea region in recent weeks in solidarity with the Palestinians. According to Houthis, they are targeting ships with ties to Israel in retaliation for the Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.
Austrin announced the “multinational operation” in the Bahraini capital Manama. In addition to the US and the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain would also participate in the coalition. The countries contribute to patrols in the area, which is very important for maritime trade.
Detour
About 30 percent of international container shipping and much tanker traffic usually passes through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Due to the attacks, some of the world’s largest container shipping companies previously decided to avoid the Red Sea and Suez Canal route for the time being. This means that they have to sail thousands of kilometers via the tip of South Africa.
Minister Kajsa Ollongren (Defense) said in the program WNL on Sunday already that the Netherlands was consulting with partner countries about tightening shipping security in the Red Sea.
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Shipping companies avoid Red Sea after attacks on container ships by Yemeni Houthis
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