Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen's Houthi-controlled waters, the Houthi minister said.
Cairo:
Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen's Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said on Monday.
Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they stand in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's offensive in Gaza.
The near-daily attacks have forced companies into lengthy and costly diversions around southern Africa, and fueled fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could destabilize the broader Middle East. The United States and Britain have bombed Houthi targets in response.
The territorial waters affected by the Yemeni Order extend halfway through the 20-kilometer-wide Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow mouth of the Red Sea through which about 15% of global shipping traffic passes on its way to or from the Suez Canal .
“(We) are ready to support requests for permits and identify ships in the Yemeni Navy, and we confirm that this is out of concern for their safety,” said Al Masirah TV, the main television news channel of the Yemeni Iran-aligned Houthi -movement. said Al-Numair.
Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said on Monday that at least four underwater communications cables – Asia-Africa-Europe 1, the Europe India Gateway, Seacom and TGN-Gulf – were damaged in the Red Sea last week, without specifying the cause.
It estimated that the damage had affected 25% of data traffic flowing under the Red Sea, and said in a statement that it had devised a plan to reroute the traffic.
Al-Numair's ministry on Saturday blamed the US and British attacks for any damage to cables.
In the latest incident, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations Agency said on Monday it had received a report that a ship had been damaged by two explosions 91 nautical miles south-east of Aden, but there were no casualties and the ship was on its way to its next port. of call.
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