Houthi naval attacks cause economic and humanitarian crisis.. Who pays the biggest price?

The attacks carried out by the Houthi group on targets in the Red Sea have caused an international navigation crisis, but the impact of this crisis has been reflected in the economies of Arab countries, not to mention doubling the humanitarian tragedy within Yemen itself.

Yemeni researcher in military and political affairs, Brigadier General Abdul Rahman Al-Rubaie, told the “Al-Hurra Investigates” program that “the damages resulting from the actions they are taking have been inflicted primarily on Yemen, and have harmed it on the commercial and economic levels.”

He added that Yemen can no longer be considered a safe country and "its territorial waters have become dangerous... and pose a threat not only to Yemen, but to the region and the world."

“Attacks on international shipping do not support UN efforts to make the peace process in Yemen a success,” said Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the UN International Maritime Organization. “By diverting ships away, access to the Yemeni coast becomes more difficult, due to insecurity and threats to commercial ships sailing in the area.”

Yemen is essentially dependent on imports to meet the food requirements of its population, importing nearly 90 percent of its grain needs, essential supplies whose access to those who need them is no longer guaranteed.

“There are reports that the Houthis are receiving missile components from Iran via the port of Hodeidah, on Iranian ships ostensibly bringing food and fuel,” says Fariz Nadimi, an expert on Iranian military affairs at the Washington Institute.

After years of displacement, the Iran-backed group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the US, has returned, adding new suffering to the lives of Yemenis.

Yemeni citizen, Abdul Shaif Ras Ali, said, “Families were affected after the Red Sea attacks, and food was completely cut off from people because of these attacks.”

He called on the Yemeni authorities to provide food as soon as possible, adding, "We are suffering in food first, shelter, education, and water. All services are almost non-existent."

In mid-July 2024, the Houthis launched a drone attack on Tel Aviv, and the next day, Israel responded with airstrikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, causing more than $20 million in damage.

Al-Rubaie said, "The Houthis claimed that they were the ones who launched this drone, which only hit an Israeli citizen and some windows in one of the buildings, but the Israeli response was violent and severe, causing great damage to the port of Hodeidah and the oil and gas reserves that were next to the port of Hodeidah."

The Houthi attack on Tel Aviv was a link in a series of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which began in November 2023 with Iranian support and arming, and under the pretext of supporting Gaza.

The Houthis and Iran also used propaganda, according to Al-Rubaie, and “of course this was with Iranian instigation, guidance, arming and support, and this talk is for propaganda purposes and to gain domestic and Arab public opinion only. But Israel was not harmed, and the people of Gaza did not benefit from anything the Houthis did at all in the Red Sea. Only the Arabs and Yemenis were harmed.”

Since 2014, the country, which was nicknamed Happy, has been suffering from the ravages of a civil war, the bloody chapters of which continue, and which, according to UN reports, has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

The UNDP study in Yemen stated that “the percentage of individuals suffering from multidimensional poverty in Yemen reached 82.7 percent, meaning that more than eight out of every ten people in the areas covered by the survey were suffering from multidimensional poverty, at the levels of education, health, child and maternal health, services, living standards, and employment.”

The official of the British relief organization, Qasim Saeed, said, “Yemen is going through a period of security instability and the war has been going on for a long time since 2014. Today, we are on the verge of the end of the year 2024, and Yemen is still suffering greatly, depending on humanitarian aid, and this is a problem.”

He added, "Almost more than 17 million people need assistance, any form of assistance, in terms of food and protection. Also the health aspect, the spread of epidemics and diseases, poor performance in health facilities. Some health facilities have stopped working, some health facilities are unable to operate."

The Houthi naval attacks not only affected the livelihood of the Yemenis, but also extended to food chains heading to other regions suffering from severe crises.

The World Food Program expressed concern that these attacks would affect the supply of grain to Sudan and the Horn of Africa region in general, as the Houthis launch their attacks in the waters through which grain ships heading to these regions usually sail, according to John Staubert, an official at the International Chamber of Shipping.

Late 2023, a month after the Houthi attacks on international ships began, major global shipping companies announced, one after the other, that they would halt their traffic in the Red Sea.

According to a report by The Maritime Executive, “ MSC , CGM and CMA have announced the suspension of their sailings in the region. This announcement comes on the heels of similar warnings from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.”

In addition to harming the economy of an Arab country, the Houthi attacks forced more than six thousand ships to change their usual course and return to the old, long navigation routes, via the Cape of Good Hope.

"About 90 percent of the container ships that used to pass through the Red Sea are now going around the Cape of Good Hope, and that can add up to two weeks to the journey time, that's about an extra nine thousand miles," Staubert said.

“Compared to sailing directly through the Suez Canal, the environmental and weather risks of using this route are increased, but they pale in comparison to being attacked by a drone, a suicide boat, or a missile fired by the Houthis from Yemen,” he added.

“There are higher risks sailing around the Cape of Good Hope,” Staubert explains. “The weather conditions are much worse than passing through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. We have had incidents of lost containers.

Reports indicate that between forty and ninety containers have fallen from ships using this route in recent weeks, in addition to risks related to navigation safety and the possibility of collisions between ships.

All of the above factors have combined to lead to a significant increase in the cost of international shipping. According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, “Container shipping rates from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe have risen sharply since November 2023, with a record high of $500 observed in the last week of December 2023. Average container shipping rates from Shanghai have more than doubled in early February 2024. Rates between the Chinese port and Europe have more than tripled.”

“The maritime safety situation in the Red Sea remains on high alert, and it is unfortunate that international shipping is being used as a hostage in a situation that has nothing to do with us,” said Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the United Nations International Maritime Organization. “This creates additional risks when it comes to the safety of navigation, firstly, for innocent seafarers who are just doing their job in the Red Sea, and secondly, for the ships themselves, as well as potential environmental damage.”

The Houthi attacks only hurt sister countries and the people of Yemen, who are now facing the risk of food supplies being cut off, and are paying the bill for increased prices of goods and commodities, if any. The whirlpool of the Red Sea, created by the terrorist group, swallowed ships and their cargo, with Iranian armament, years before October 7, 2023, to make it clear that everything that was said about supporting Gaza was just slogans for local consumption.

Source: Alhurra