[ad_1] IKEA has warned supplies could be delayed amid ongoing rebel attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.The furniture giant is one of many companies w
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IKEA has warned supplies could be delayed amid ongoing rebel attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
The furniture giant is one of many companies who have been impacted as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to launch strikes on passing container ships in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the group has launched over 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels.
In a statement the company said the situation in the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, will “result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain Ikea products”.
“We are in close dialogue with our transportation partners to ensure the safety of people working in the IKEA value chain and to take all the necessary precautions to keep them safe,” it added. “This is our main priority.”
The company said it is currently evaluating other supply routing options to secure the availability of their products.
It comes after oil giant BP halted all shipments of oil and gas through the region, noting “the safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP’s priority”.
“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. We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region,” it said in a statement.
Four of the world’s biggest shipping companies, CMA CGM Group, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and MSC, have also responded to the attacks, making the costly move to reroute their vessels to avoid passage through the Red Sea and divert them around the southern tip of Africa, despite higher fuel costs of the much longer voyage.
In a statement on Tuesday, Denmark’s A.P Moller-Maersk, which accounts for 15 per cent of global container freight, said “all vessels previously paused and due to sail through the region will now be re-routed around Africa via The Cape of Good Hope”.
“Maersk had approximately 20 vessels that had paused transits, out of which half were waiting”.
According to the BBC, it would take oil tankers roughly 25.5 days to travel via the typical Red Sea route, between Taiwan and the Netherlands, spanning 18,520km.
Detoured tankers are instead rerouting around The Cape of Good Hope, which would take 25.5 days to complete the 25,000km voyage.
On Monday, Houthi rebels claimed attacks on two vessels in the vital shipping lane between Asia and Europe, including the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic.
The US military’s Central Command said the Swan Atlantic “was attacked by a one-way attack drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen”.
It said the guided missile destroyer USS Carney “responded to assess damage”.
At approximately the same time, “the bulk cargo ship MV Clara reported an explosion in the water near their location,” CENTCOM said.
No casualties were reported in either attack, it added.
The Houthis said they are targeting ships travelling to Israel, acting in “solidarity” with Palestinians.
But the reality is more complex.
“These attacks have become random and target ships that have no connection to Israel and are not heading to the port of Eilat,” said Eva Koulouriotis, an independent expert, on X, formerly Twitter.
Australia denies US warship request
Australia has officially denied a US request to send a navy warship to the Red Sea to counter the escalating attacks, instead tripling its number of shore-based personnel in a bid to secure the critical waterway.
On Friday, Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the government would not send a warship to the Middle East but would instead increase the number of Australian maritime forces staffed in Bahrain from five to 10 and deploy up to six navy personnel to contribute to a new US-led taskforce.
“We won’t be sending a ship or a plane. That said, we will be tripling our contribution to the combined maritime force,” Mr Marles said.
“We need to be clear about our strategic focus, and our strategic focus is our region and the northeast Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Pacific.”
The confirmation follows days of speculation over Australia’s reluctance to participate in a US-led operation, which will include the armed forces of Britain, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy and France.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham claimed the Albanese government’s handling of the issue had “exposed” Australia to perceptions of indecisiveness.
“I think our partners and allies will want reassurance that we can still be a trusted and reliable partner in other parts of the world,” he said.
“By not saying we don’t have the capacity, it’s unclear whether we are incapable or whether the government is unwilling – and that’s where the government is being inadequate there.”
Australia expressed its diplomatic support for freedom of navigation in the Red Sea in a 44-nation joint declaration signed on Wednesday.
The statement, led by the US and EU, condemned Houthi attacks on ships as “unjustified” and said the seizure of a British-owned boat and capture of its 25 members and crew was “appalling”
Houthi rebels say they will ‘not stop’
Houthi rebels said on Tuesday they would not halt attacks despite the announcement of the new maritime protection force.
“Even if America succeeds in mobilising the entire world, our military operations will not stop … no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said on X, formerly Twitter.
Top Houthi official Mohammed Ali al-Huthi also warned any nation that acts against the Yemeni rebels will have its ships targeted.
“Any country that moves against us will have its ships targeted in the Red Sea,” he said in a televised interview with Iran’s Al-Alam television.
– With AFP
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