FINLANDS SJÖFART ■ SUOMEN MERENKULKU 65 Since the latest war between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October 2023, attacks by Palestinian-aligned actors in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have put seafarers at risk during voyages through the Suez Canal. These attacks are against vessels which are claimed to have links to Israel or that have called at Israeli ports and are claimed by the Houthi government in Yemen, although in some instances these links have been tenuous or have subsequently proven to be false. There has been an associated increase in opportunistic attacks by Somali pirates. As a faction engaged in a long civil war with a Saudi-backed rival government in the south, the Houthi government has access to military resources and technical expertise including missile and drone technology. It also uses modern online resources to CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS SEAFARERS IN THE FIRING LINE Attacks by state actors on merchant shipping are once again putting maritime professionals at risk. ROB COSTON reports on the threat, and how the industry is responding. easily identify Israeli-linked targets and ships calling at Israeli ports. Longstanding security arrangements designed to combat low-tech assaults by Somali pirates – such as armed guards and water cannon – are clearly inadequate when dealing with drones and veteran Houthi fighters. Video footage released by Houthi forces storming the Bahamas-flagged vessel Galaxy Leader by helicopter shows what seafarers are up against. The attacks have caused several major shipping lines to stop sailing through the Red Sea and instead redirect vessels around the Cape of Good Hope or put sailings on hold. ‘Many of the largest shipping companies by market share have suspended shipping in the Red Sea altogether,’ says Nautilus head of professional and
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