Termination of US protection for shipping vessels in the Red Sea

Today, Thursday, the US announced the termination of protection for shipping vessels associated with Israel during their passage through the Red Sea.

Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

The Danish shipping company Maersk revealed that the US Navy officially informed them of their inability to secure all the ships in the Bab Al-Mandeb strait.

The company had announced the resumption of its operations in the Red Sea in November of last year, following a temporary halt due to the targeting of a ship by Yemen that was heading to Israeli ports, disregarding Yemeni warnings regarding the violation of the Israeli navigation ban.

The resumption of its vessel transit coincided with an American announcement of the formation of an alliance to protect ships, named “Guardian of Prosperity,” with the company relying on US protection.

In his statement, the CEO of the company, Vincent Clerc, did not clarify the motives behind the suspension of US protection for the vessels.

It remains unknown whether this step is part of US efforts to escalate in the Red Sea or an acknowledgment of failure. However, Clerc’s talk about the company’s declining profits during the past year indicates that the company may have been subjected to US extortion, especially since the notification came following the approval of a specific budget for US operations in the Red Sea, which does not include securing foreign shipping vessels and associated with Israel.