A French-owned ultra-large cargo ship has become the first to transit the Red Sea in two years in a move that could see the frequent use of the vital shipping channel re-established.
Shipping authorities told The National that there has been a “slight sharp rise” in vessels transiting the Suez Canal following the ceasefire in Gaza last month.
In an undated letter to Hamas’ Qassam Brigades published online by the group, the Houthis this week offered their clearest signal that their attacks have ceased.
The letter from Yusuf Al Madani, the Houthi military's chief of staff, said they were "closely monitoring developments" and declared that if Israel resumed its aggression against Gaza the Houthis would "reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas".
The Houthis have not offered any formal acknowledgment their campaign in the region has halted.
However, in what appears to be a trial-run, the Benjamin Franklin, capable of carrying 18,000 shipping containers, turned off its automatic identification system (AIS) for six days from the Suez Canal until it was deep into the Arabian Sea, south of Oman.
Lloyds List reported that the Benjamin Franklin, en route to Malaysia, had become the first ultra‑large container vessel with a partial load to make the journey and the next ship to do a fully loaded journey “could become a key bellwether for the wider return”.
It added that several ships operated by CMA CGM were heading back to the region “in what appears to be a further attempt by the French carrier to test the waters for a gradual resumption” of the Asia-Europe route.
The successful transition could herald the reopening of the critical corridor for transportation of goods that has been severely hampered by the Israel-Gaza war.
It is hoped that shipping prices could now reduce with the route carrying an estimated $1 trillion of goods through it each year, as the longer passage via South Africa adds three weeks extra travel and greater costs.
The Houthi campaign against Red Sea shipping began a month after the October 7 attacks and has seen more than 100 ships targeted with drones or missiles in which four have been sunk and nine mariners killed.
Despite the deployment of a US aircraft carrier group into the Red Sea and numerous air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, the extremists’ action led to a 60 per cent drop in shipping.
Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc described the truce between Israel and Hamas as “a big step in the right direction for the reopening of the Suez”, in a recent interview with CNN.
The International Chamber of Shipping told The National that while they had seen a “slight sharp rise in traffic” owners would remain cautious.
“There is uncertainty about Houthi intent and whether the Gaza ceasefire itself will endure,” said senior manager John Stawpert. “It will be a while before confidence returns to the extent that you'll see pre-crisis levels of traffic.”
He added that would likely happen if the Houthis gave a “declared end” to its campaign and there are now reports that the Yemeni extremists have published online an undated letter to Hamas’s Qassam Brigades signalling that their attacks have stopped.
“We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” stated the letter from Maj Gen Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, the Houthi military’s chief of staff.
Mr Stawpert said despite the lack of attacks for more than a month, ships transiting the Red Sea were doing full threat assessments and liaising with the military.
“The shock of the crisis has been profound and it will take a long time for that confidence to return, where ships will go through without a threat assessment through those waters,” he added.
