Up to 114 Vessels Continue Voyages in Red Sea despite Warnings: Bloomberg

Large numbers of commercial vessels continued to sail in the Red Sea despite warnings from Western naval forces to stay away from the main trade route to avoid attack by Houthi militants.

Last Friday, the Combined Forces - which includes both the British and US navies - advised commercial ships to stay away from the danger zone. Its advice came after the two countries launched air strikes on targets in Yemen as part of an attempt to suppress attacks by Houthi militants on commercial ships, raising concerns about reprisals.

A large number of merchant ships followed this advice. The number of ships passing through Bab al-Mandab has declined by more than 50% since Friday compared to the corresponding period of the previous month, according to Bloomberg.

However, 114 ships - including oil tankers, bulk carriers and container ships - continued to transit into or out of the Red Sea through the narrow crossing point, according to the data. The latest number compares with 131 ships during the same period the previous week, when tensions in the region were already high and ships were being targeted by Houthi missiles and drones. The number of passing ships also decreased from 272 ships in the same period a month ago and 252 six months ago.

The fact that multiple ships continue to transit the waterway is a reminder that shipping companies have different tolerances for risk, and some consider their ships can transit safely.

Although the number of shipments overall fell sharply, oil shipments from Russia fell by a much smaller percentage. Many ships have also announced contacts with China in hopes of sailing safely. Some companies also stated that they did not participate in trade with Israel.

Gas transport companies saw the largest decline in their shipments, as the number of tankers sailing in the Red Sea decreased by 96% compared to last month. Followed by container ships and other ships that do not fall into any of the categories, with their numbers decreasing by about 80%. The number of oil tankers passing through the region also decreased by about 55% compared to last month.

Bulk carriers were the least affected, with their number falling by 25% from the previous month. More than 20 ships heading east of the Gulf of Aden stopped, and a number of them deviated from their course after the joint naval forces issued a warning.

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