Red Sea crisis nears boiling point, unable to heat up spot rates

4 min

Russian warships entered the Red Sea last Thursday, for what the Russian Pacific Fleet’s press service has stated was the performance of “assigned tasks within the framework of the long-range sea campaign.” This intentional vagueness has invited no small amount of speculation as to the ships’ true objectives.

Theories range from retaliatory pressure on Israel, which decided in late February to co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to supporting beleaguered ally Syria’s military objectives in the region.

Then again, the warships might simply be in the Red Sea to guard against attacks from Yemen-backed Houthi rebels.

‘Not to be trusted’

In late March, Bloomberg reported that the Houthis had promised safe passage to Russian and Chinese vessels in the Red Sea and nearby Gulf of Aden. In exchange, the two countries allegedly agreed to leverage their position as members of the U.N. Security Council to support the Houthis.

Source: freightwaves.com

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