① Since this week, the US Navy and the Houthis have continued to clash, and regional tension has continued to heat up; ② It is worth mentioning that the Houthis and the US military “each stand alone” twice this week with regard to the effects of the missile attacks; ③ Faced with complex security situations, more and more world-renowned companies have joined the ranks to bypass the Cape of Good Hope.
Finance Association, January 25 (Editor Shi Zhengcheng) As Yemen's Houthis continue to launch attacks on targets in the Red Sea, and with each party holding their own opinions on “whether the missile hit or not,” a deeply troubled multinational giant continues to join the “Detour Cape of Good Hope” — according to the latest news on Thursday, mining giant BHP (BHP) has become the latest well-known case.
Let me first explain the latest situation. The stock market in connection with the Red Sea attacks has already seen a “Rashomun” situation several times this week — the Houthis claimed to have hit an American/US military ship, but the US military later denied it.
Did the missile hit?
For example, the Houthis claimed to have attacked the US military cargo ship Ocean Jazz on Monday (January 22). Afterwards, the US Navy Central Command quickly claimed that the so-called “successful attack on the Ocean Jazz” by Houthis was an obvious mistake, and that the US military kept in touch with the ship as it safely passed through this sea area.
The most recent incident occurred within 24 hours. According to reports, Houthi military spokesman Yahya said that the Houthis used missile attacks on a series of US warships located in the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Mander. A rather surprising detail is that the Houthis claimed that during this series of clashes, a US military ship was directly hit, causing two commercial ships to turn around.
The statement of the US military central command is that on Wednesday afternoon local time, the Houthis fired 3 anti-ship missiles at the “Maersk Detroit” cargo ship flying the US flag and operated by an American company. One of them hit the sea, while the other two were successfully intercepted by the escorted Burke class missile destroyer Graveley. The statement stressed that there were no reports of injuries or damage to people or boats.
(Source: X)
As an eyewitness to the incident, Maersk also added a bit of information. In their statement, they said that while the two ships were sailing, many explosions were reported nearby, and the US military warships that accompanied them also intercepted several missiles. The crew, ship, and cargo were all unharmed, and the next two boats made a U-turn and returned to the Gulf of Aden. Maersk also announced that its US subsidiary has suspended Red Sea routes.
Incidentally, the reason these two ships are accompanied by warships is because they are carrying US government goods. Both merchant ships are involved in a project to deliver wartime equipment and supplies to the US Department of Defense.
The detour army continues to increase
According to the latest news on Thursday, global mining giant BHP Billiton also confirmed that most goods on the Asian-European route are detouring the Cape of Good Hope. BHP Billiton said in a statement that the Red Sea is one of the most important waterways in the world; however, most of BHP Billiton's cargo transportation does not follow this shipping line. BHP Billiton also stated that the change did not cause “major business disruptions.”
For Australian mining giants, revenue from Europe in 2023 was only US$1.96 billion, accounting for only 3.6% of total revenue.
BHP Billiton said that the Red Sea situation forced some of the company's shipping service providers to use alternative routes, such as Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. However, there are also some shipping companies that prefer to continue using the Red Sea route with additional control measures.
Previously, Shell, British Petroleum, and Qatar Energy had all joined the “Detour to the Cape of Good Hope” team
According to estimates given by industry experts, compared to the Red Sea-Suez Canal route, detouring the Cape of Good Hope would increase the voyage by several thousand nautical miles, corresponding to about 9 days.