Containerships carrying goods for particular companies, including Boeing, have been listed as legitimate targets by the Houthi militia, as the Red Sea crisis drags on.
The Iran-backed Yemeni-based militia issued a statement on Saturday sanctioning 15 companies, including the US aircraft maker, with secondary sanctions on third-party entities having “any form of dealings with [the] companies listed”.
A Houthi spokesperson said: “[Your] fleet will be prohibited from transiting the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the fleet will be subject to targeting wherever reachable by the Yemeni armed forces.”
Among the shipping lines believed to service Boeing are CMA CGM and Maersk, although a spokesperson for the latter would not confirm this was the case and declined to comment on the Houthis statement.
However, one source suggested the warning from the Houthis would likely have very few practical implications for carriers. Instead, they described it as a “desperate try by the Houthis make it into the news once in a while”, and that they doubted whether the major shipping lines would be affected.
“And, of course, the container vessels are not transiting the area within the Houthis’ reach right now, anyway,” they said.
In February, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc suggested a return to Red Sea transits could be possible, but there would need to be “full degradation of their [Houthis’] capabilities, or there is some type of deal”.
Focus returned to the Red Sea, and more specifically the Suez Canal, this weekend as President Trump said on his social media channel: “American ships, both military and commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez canals”.
Claiming neither waterway would exist without the US, he tasked secretary of state Marco Rubio to “immediately take care of this”.
Last year, the Egyptian waterway saw revenue fall 60% year on year, recording a loss of $7bn, despite efforts by US and allied forces to hinder Houthi attacks preventing commercial shipping from using the canal..
Those efforts appear to have stepped up since Mr Trump took office in January, but past leaked messages from vice president Vance seemingly suggest something of a disconnect with Mr Trump’s latest pronouncement. One included Mr Vance describing the use of US force against the Houthis as “bailing Europe out again”.
Meanwhile, 40 people were killed in an huge explosion at the Shahid Rajaei container hub, at Iran’s largest port, on Saturday, with the government declining to provide information on the cause of the blast.
Writing on LinkedIn, Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen said: “Obviously, what everyone is wondering is whether this was an accident or a clandestine act of sabotage.
“Before any speculation goes rampantly out of control, it is worth pointing out that industrial accidents of such proportions are – sadly – not uncommon in ports. Just think of the recent major explosions in the ports in Beirut or Ningbo.”
