Ship traffic through the Red Sea is down by around three-fifths since 2023, despite a cease-fire brokered between the U.S. and Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have been attacking vessels in the shipping lane that connects the Suez Canal with the rest of the world.
According to the New York Times, the cease-fire, which began May 6, ended a U.S. campaign that involved over 1,100 strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, and became a source of embarrassment for the Trump administration after group chats about the strikes inadvertently became public. The Pentagon had planned on a months-long bombardment, but President Trump ended it after about 50 days.
Even though a commercial vessel has not been attacked since December, big shipping companies continue to avoid the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, taking the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa to travel between Asia and Europe.
The Times reports that shipping executives said they also feared a severe disruption to their networks if they returned to the Red Sea but suddenly had to pull out of the region because attacks resumed.
