Houthi attacks could have a major ripple effect on Israeli shipping, Windward says

Houthis recent attacks suggest the group is now adopting a broader strategy to its selection of targeted vessels, potentially putting one out of every six ships at risk of future attacks, according to maritime advisory outfit Windward. Following the group’s attack on the Magic Seas vessel this month, the Houthis spokesperson Yahya al-Sarea said the vessel was targeted because its owner also operates ships calling on Israeli ports, TheNew York Times reports. Initial reports of the attack were unable to pinpoint why the vessel was targeted despite the lack of Israeli ports calls linked to its name.

Is Israel already feeling the heat? The strategy could reshape the maritime ins. market for Israel-linked shippers as ins. providers mull severing war risk coverage for vessels that are indirectly linked to Israeli ports, the Middle East Eye reported last week, citing two unnamed sources in the shipping industry. “Vessels are going to start to avoid calling at Israeli ports. It's not about getting hit by the Houthis, but the chance of not being insured,” a maritime security official told Middle East Eye.

A case in point: Travellers — the Eternity C vessel’s ins. provider — refused to extend “war risk” protection prior to the ship’s Red Sea voyage, resulting in a steep loss for the ship’s owners after the Houthi attacks — Greece’s Cosmoship Management. This could sway shippers to wash their hands of any association with Israeli ports to ensure they could clinch insurance prior to Red Sea trips, Middle East Eye reports.

IN OTHER RED SEA UPDATES-

Filipino-crewed ships ordered to avoid Red Sea: A government advisory from the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has ordered shipowners to reroute vessels manned by Filipino crew to avoid the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement (pdf) published last week. The move follows a Houthi attack on the Eternity C vessel earlier this month, whose crew included eight Filipinos, the Associated Press reported at the time.

The impact: Given that up to 30% of the world’s seafarers are reportedly Filipino, the move could “seriously reduce the number of vessels willing and able to sail through the Middle East region, and place further strain on regional and global trade,” Dubai-based maritime lawyer Cameron Livingstone told Arabian Gulf Business Insight last week. The DMW has the authority to punish Filipino labor agencies that do not comply with the advisory, according to the news outlet.