{"id":144383,"date":"2023-12-18T13:16:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity-hub.com\/?p=144383"},"modified":"2023-12-18T13:16:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:16:27","slug":"bp-halts-tanker-journeys-through-the-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity-hub.com\/world-news\/bp-halts-tanker-journeys-through-the-red-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"BP halts tanker journeys through the Red Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
Oil giant BP has paused all of its tanker journeys through the Red Sea due to attacks by militants in Yemen, after a Norwegian oil tanker was attacked with rockets fired from the country in the latest incident in the vital shipping route.<\/p>\n
The M\/V Swan Atlantic was attacked in the southern Red Sea by multiple projectiles launched from Houthi-controlled territory, US officials told Reuters news agency, prompting the United States to send in a warship.<\/p>\n
The USS Carney responded to its distress call by moving toward the Cayman Islands-flagged tanker, the officials added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The US official was not authorised to speak publicly about the attack, and so spoke on condition of anonymity and did not give further details, Reuters said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the incident, BP announced its decision to pause its tanker journeys through the region, which has increasingly come under attack since the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.<\/p>\n
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Oil giant BP has paused all of its tanker journeys through the Red Sea due to attacks by militants in Yemen, after a Norwegian oil tanker was attacked with rockets fired from the country in the latest incident in the vital shipping route<\/p>\n
The company said:\u00a0‘In our trading & shipping business, as in all BP businesses, the safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is bp’s priority.<\/p>\n
‘In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, bp has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region.’<\/p>\n
The owner of the on the the M\/V Swan Atlantic said on Monday it was hit by an unidentified object and that none of its crew had been injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oystein Elgan, chief executive of owner Inventor Chemical Tankers, said the ship’s water tank had been damaged in the attack but all the vessel’s systems were operating normally.<\/p>\n
Operator Uni-Tankers said in a statement the crew had brought under control a small fire after the vessel was struck on its port side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ship was carrying vegetable oils and is sailing to Reunion Island.<\/p>\n
A British maritime authority said earlier that it had received a report of a possible explosion two nautical miles from a vessel located 30 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mokha.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority said in separate advisories it had received reports of a second incident 30 nautical miles northwest of Mokha and another incident 24 nautical miles southeast of the port.<\/p>\n
No other information was given in the reports, and it was not immediately clear whether any of the reports related to the M\/V Swan Atlantic.<\/p>\n
The attack is the latest in a string of incidents in the Black Sea since Hamas launched its October 7 attack from Gaza in Israel, killing around 1,200 people.<\/p>\n
In response, Israel declared war on the terror group and launched its own ground offensive into the coastal enclave, killing over\u00a018,000 Palestinians.<\/p>\n
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The USS Carney (pictured, file photo) responded to its distress call by moving toward the Cayman Islands-flagged tanker, the officials added today following the attack<\/p>\n
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The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, say the attacks are a show of solidarity with Palestinians and have pledged to continue until Israel stops attacking Gaza. Pictured:\u00a0The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, delivers a statement on the recent attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, during a pro-Palestinians rally in Sana’a, Yemen, December 15<\/p>\n
The war has repeatedly spilled into other areas of the region.<\/p>\n
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have traded fire along the border nearly every day since the war began, and other Iran-backed militant groups have attacked U.S. targets in Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones – with the M\/V Swan Atlantic being the latest.<\/p>\n
The group has also fired drones and missiles at Israel more than 1,000 miles from their seat of power in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.<\/p>\n
The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, say the attacks are a show of solidarity with Palestinians and have pledged to continue until Israel stops attacking Gaza.<\/p>\n
However, the group said on Saturday that real steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip would contribute to ‘reducing the escalation’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They also said that they were in Oman-mediated talks about its sea ‘operations’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the first indication that the militia group may be willing to de-escalate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The attacks pose a threat to the global economy as they target the flow of supplies between Asia and the West.<\/p>\n
They are driving up the cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen’s Houthis last month, is seen anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen December 5<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People tour the deck of the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen’s Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen December 5<\/p>\n
The US, British and French navies have already strengthened their presence in the Red Sea to protect vessels from the risk of seizure or attack by the Houthis.<\/p>\n
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters earlier this month that Washington was in talks with various nations over forming a maritime task force for the Red Sea, but did not give further details.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, it was reported today that Italy is considering whether to join a Western naval coalition meant to protect ships in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
The Italian source, who also asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that Rome had been asked to join the operation and a decision would be made by the end of this week.<\/p>\n
The attacks have resulted in several shipping companies assessing whether or not to pause operations that involved routes through the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
French shipping group CMA CGM on Saturday said it was pausing all container shipments through the region.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd said on Friday it was examining whether to pause sailings via the Red Sea, hours after reporting one of its ships had been attacked.<\/p>\n
A projectile believed to be a drone struck its vessel Al Jasrah while sailing close to the coast of Yemen. No crew were injured.<\/p>\n
Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk said on the same day it would also pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice, following a ‘near-miss incident’ involving its vessel Maersk Gibraltar a day earlier.<\/p>\n
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A smoke plume erupts during Israeli bombardment on the northern Gaza Strip near the border with southern Israel on December 17, 2023<\/p>\n
The ship was targeted by a missile while travelling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the company said.<\/p>\n
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said Saturday its ships would not transit through the Suez Canal, with some already rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, a day after Houthi forces fired two ballistic missiles at its MSC Palatium III vessel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The decision will disrupt sailing schedules by several days, the Switzerland-based group said.<\/p>\n
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has also stopped cargo acceptance to and from Israel until further notice due to operational issues, the shipping company owned by Hong Kong-based Oriental Overseas.<\/p>\n