Picture This: Houthis Renew Vessel Attacks, Making Shipping Route Changes Unlikely

What we know

• The Houthis have targeted merchant ships in the Red Sea for the first time since the beginning of 2025, with attacks over two days on two bulk carriers.
• The renewed streak of attacks in the Red Sea was followed by Israeli forces attacking Yemeni Houthi targets such as a car carrier as well as port infrastructure in Yemen. The Israel Defense Forces claims that the vessel has been used by the Houthis to track vessel traffic.
• More than 1,100 merchant vessels—tankers, bulk carriers, and container and general cargo ships—have called at Israeli ports in 2025, among those big container lines. 
• The Red Sea region is not the only location where shipping faces conflict risks. Two explosions on tankers are reported to have been coordinated by Ukraine to damage vessels carrying Russian oil since February 2025 in Russian waters. A third incident in the Mediterranean earlier in July is also believed to have been carried out by Ukrainian affiliates.

Why this matters

The renewal of attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea region increases the likelihood that ship operators, in particular container shipping firms, continue to prefer Cape of Good Hope routes for shipments into north Europe and the US East Coast, despite the need for faster shipping to beat tariffs.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.