Global Shipping Organization Warns of Rising Threats Around Arabian Peninsula
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), one of the largest Shipping organizationsWarned on Sunday that threats against commercial ships around the Arabian Peninsula increases after the US air strikes against the Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Bimco Security Head Jakob Larsen said Iranians could try to take revenge on air strikes by attacking American warships in the region, or civilian ships affiliated in the United States or Israel, either directly or through their terrorist proxies.
“The Houthis threat against expedition to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has also increased. The Houthis now threaten merchant ships with affiliation to Israel or in the United States, but attacks on merchant ships with other affiliations cannot be excluded,” he said.
Larsen said that Iranians could attack ships in the Hormuz Strait with drones and missiles, and could also try to place mines in this vital sea.
Mines would be more difficult to counter Iranian planes, intercept anti-navire missiles or sink an Iranian naval blockade, but they would have “the risk for commercial ships affiliated to Iran and the risk of environmental disaster in the event that a ship is damaged”.
“Given the Iranian threat to the American military bases in the region, the availability of warships for the protection of commercial shipment is probably limited, in particular for commercial ships without affiliation in the United States or in Israel,” added Larsen.
“Before the American attack, the impact on shipping models was limited. Now, after the American attack, we indicate that the number of ships that passes reduced,” he said. “If we start to see the Iranian attacks against the expedition, this will most likely reduce the number of ships passing through the [Strait of Hormuz]. “”
“The rhythm to which the oil tankers enter the Hormuz Strait have definitively slowed down. We have indications of the sender that they put oil and pending ships, they are therefore waiting for a timely moment to enter the Strait,” said Andy Critichlow of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Critichlow said that suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) advise oil trees to avoid “strolling” in the Persian Gulf, where they could be vulnerable to Iranian attacks. The ships of ships would organize short breaks before ships entered the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz so that ships can go through the area as quickly as possible.
Hapag-Lloyd giant shipping said On Monday, he “will closely monitor the current developments in the region”, but “currently, our ships continue to transit the Hormuz Strait”.
“The security and well-being of our crews and our ships remain our highest priority. We actively assess potential risks and we are ready to adjust our operations if the conditions change,” said the company.
Maersk too said His ships will continue to navigate the Hormuz Strait for the moment.
“We continue to monitor the situation very closely, in particular given the participation of the United States in the conflict,” said the company.
Industry analysts have said that insurance costs would probably increase due to the fears of Iranian terrorism, but that the expedition would probably continue unless an attack takes place.
At least two supertankers would have Played “U-Tour” to avoid entering the Hormuz Strait immediately after the American air strikes, but they obviously changed their minds and returned to the Strait. One of the oil tankers had almost reached the end of the Strait on Monday morning.
The Iranian Parliament on Sunday vote To approve the blocking of the Hormuz Strait, a decision that would have a serious impact on the world economy if Tehran follows.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that it would be a “terrible error” and “economic suicide” for Iran to close the Strait, and he predicted that the whole world would see it as a “massive escalation which deserves an answer”.
Rubio suggested that China might want to use everything it has with the Iranian government to keep the Hormuz Strait open. Instead, the Chinese government has warned its own ships to be cautious in the region.
The Association of Chinese Artils (CSA), which is controlled by the Ministry of State Transport, published an opinion On Monday, which asked all companies to report the names, identification numbers, crew and cargo of each ship, passing the Hormuz Strait, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“The current tensions in the Red Sea have had generalized and deep impacts on the safety of expeditions in surrounding waters,” said the CSA opinion.
