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| That much longer journey had the result of greatly reducing the effective capacity of the global container fleet, causing rates in many lanes to ultimately rise more than 200%. |
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It has been a very strange and at times precarious year or so for global shipping, withso-called Hoothi rebels launching missiles from South Yemen at container and bulk ships entering or leaving the Red Sea.
The Red Sea must be navigated for ships entering the Suez Canal from the south or leaving it from the north.
As the attacks increased and persisted, many ocean carriers decided to stop sailing through waters and travel instead around the bottom of Africa, generally on their way from Asian or Mideast ports on their way to European ones.
That much longer journey had the result of greatly reducing the effective capacity of the global container fleet, causing rates in many lanes to ultimately rise more than 200%.
Earlier this week, the editors at the maritime-focused gcaptain.com laid out a detailed timeline of events over the 12 months or so.
Below we highlight a few of these events by date:
November 19, 2023: The Galaxy Leader, a car carrier en route to India with 25 crew members, was seized by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels near Hodeidah, Yemen. This high-profile hijacking marked the onset of an aggressive maritime campaign by the Houthis.
December 14, 2023: A missile narrowly missed the Maersk Gibraltar near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, prompting Maersk to temporarily suspend Red Sea operations. This pause triggered several other shipping lines to follow suit, signaling that a major disruption in global shipping was imminent.
December 18, 2023: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational security initiative, under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, focusing on security and freedom of navigation in southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
December 30, 2023: Following the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, Maersk decided to resume transits through the region. However, within days, the M/V Maersk Hangzhou was attacked by missiles and nearly boarded in the Red Sea. In response, Maersk indefinitely suspended its Red Sea transits, diverting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope for the “foreseeable future.”
Following Maersk’s example, other shipping companies also suspended their voyages through the region.
January 9, 2024: The Houthis launched a massive barrage of missiles and one-way attack drones toward international shipping lanes containing both merchant and U.S. Navy vessels.
January 26, 2024: The tanker Marlin Luanda was hit by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden, igniting one of its cargo tanks. The fire was extinguished, and no injuries were reported, though the incident highlighted increasing risks from Houthi attacks.
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The incident marked the first time the Iranian-backed Houthi group had successfully sunk a ship since launching their attacks on shipping.
June 12, 2024: The M/V Tutor was attacked in the Southern Red Sea. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was first struck in the stern by an unmanned small craft while underway. A second strike followed from an unknown airborne projectile.
The vessel sank about a week later. The incident claimed the life of one seafarer who went missing aboard the Tutor, marking the fourth fatality from the attacks.
This attack was notable as the first successful use of an unmanned surface vessel by the Houthis.
October 16, 2024: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted targeted airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The operation deployed U.S. Air Force B-2 “Spirit” long-range stealth bombers to neutralize the growing threat to international maritime security in the region.
What a year it was indeed.
The full time-line from gcaptain is available here: Red Sea Crisis: A Timeline of Maritime Chaos Over the Past Year
What are your thoughts on this timeline? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback section below.
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