When the Houthis began their series of attacks in the Red Sea the world was caught off guard, not expecting the Yemeni group to hold a global trade route in a chokehold. More than a year after their first attack on vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandeb straight which separates Yemen from the Horn of Africa and lies at the southern end of the Red Sea they have created a new normal: international trade has largely rerouted around southern Africa or been otherwise displaced, and a permanent coalition naval force led by the United States is stationed in the waterway.
The crisis can be said to have started after 7 October 2023, when the Houthis started firing missiles at Israel. The following month the Houthis kicked off their naval campaign in the southern Red Sea targeting ships supposedly linked to Israel and seizing the Galaxy Leader car carrier and its crew on 19 November (MEES, 24 November 2023). The group ended 2023 widening the scope of their attacks, causing major shipping firms to begin rerouting their vessels away from the Red Sea (MEES, 22 December 2023). (CONTINUED - 923 WORDS)
