LONDON: Greece-headquartered Star Bulk has decided to stop sailings through the Red Sea after Houthis attacked two of its ships in recent days.
Since mid-November, Yemen’s Houthis have attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, claiming to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.
“Going forward, we will no longer pass through the Suez Canal because we are obviously a target of the Houthis – as a public company registered in the United States,” Star Bulk CEO Petros Pappas said during a February 13 earnings call.
Pappas stated that they had asked the charterers of two distinct vessels if they might avoid passing via the Suez Canal, which goes to the Red Sea.
“We got advice that we had to follow the charter party and send the vessels through Suez,” Pappas claimed, adding that the first vessel was assaulted three times.
“While that was happening, the second vessel was already passing Suez, so we could not divert it, and that had to continue and was attacked,” he went on to say.
On February 6, the Houthis fired three missiles against the Star Nasia, which is managed by Nasdaq-listed Star Bulk, causing minimal damage and no injuries, according to the US military’s Central Command (Centcom), adding that one of the projectiles was shot down by a US navy ship.
The Houthis fired two missiles at the Star Bulk-managed Star Iris, which was headed to Iran with a load of Brazilian maize, according to Centcom and maritime analysts, marking the first time an Iran-bound vessel has been targeted.
Houthi militants in Yemen, who control the country’s most populous regions, are targeting vessels with commercial ties to the United States, Britain, and Israel, according to shipping and insurance sources.
Star Bulk CEO said war risk insurance rates had risen in recent days.
“We won’t be going through the Red Sea, so it does not apply anymore. For whoever it does, I suppose the more vessels that are hit, the higher the insurance rates that the insurer will ask.”
