Twice-attacked commodity shipper to stop using the Red Sea

Commodity shipping company Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will no longer sail through the Red Sea after attacks on two of its ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels since last week.

The company said it was targeted because it’s listed in the US and that it was unable to divert the two vessels that came under fire — despite a heightened threat to ships with US links — for legal reasons. Earlier this week, Yemen’s Houthi militants said they hit the Star Iris, after last week targeting Star Nasia, both of which are owned by Star Bulk. 

“Going forward, we will not be passing Suez Canal anymore because we are obviously a target of the Houthis being a public company registered in the US,” Chief Executive Officer Petros Pappas said on an earnings call.

Since Houthi attacks began in mid-November, most merchant ships — and virtually all those with direct links to the US, UK and Israel — have stopped sailing through the narrow Bab El-Mandeb chokepoint. That has seen swaths of global shipping divert thousands of miles around Africa, rather than through the Suez Canal waterway that links Europe and Asia. 

Star Bulk’s Pappas said the first of the company’s vessels was attacked three times while sailing through the Gulf of Aden, a reminder of the treacherous conditions faced by crews of vessels that have to navigate through the region. 

The targeting of US-listed shipping companies creates a risk of attack for dozens of companies — many of whom aren’t based in the US.