Several shipping companies are suspending the passage of ships through the Red Sea

Chinese shipping companies COSCO, OOCL and Evergreen Marine decided to suspend cargo transportation on the Red Sea route, one of the main maritime routes in the world that connects Europe, Asia and Africa.

Three companies, including the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, have verbally informed their customers of the cargo suspension, Shanghai news portal The Paper reported today.

Evergreen Marine, headquartered in Taiwan, announced today that “Ahead of the fierce escalation of the war situation in recent days,” will suspend Israel’s import and export service with immediate effect “due to increased risks and security concerns”.

“Due to operational issues, OOCL will suspend cargo acceptance to and from Israel effective immediately until further notice,” the Hong Kong-based shipping company announced this Saturday.

The oil company BP also reported this Monday that it has decided to temporarily suspend the passage of its ships through the Red Sea, after several ships were attacked in recent days near the coast of Yemen.

“The safety of our people and those who work on our behalf is BP’s priority,” the company said in a statement sent to EFE this Monday.

“In light of the deteriorating security situation in maritime traffic in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily suspend all transits through the Red Sea. We will keep this precautionary pause under constant surveillance, depending on the circumstances as they develop in the region,” he adds. .

Last Friday the maritime transport group Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced the temporary suspension of navigation through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea after several ships were attacked in recent days near the coast of Yemen.

Other groups supported this decision and joined the temporary suspension without specifying a date for the resumption of sailing on this route.

In the past two months, the Houthis have fired several missiles and drones against southern Israel, and also against ships flying the flag of the Jewish state or owned by Israeli companies in the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandeb Strait.

Last Friday was the most violent day against international shipping in the area after at least three ships were attacked, two of which were claimed by the Iran-backed Houthis.