Kuwait Oil Tanker suspends tanker transit through the Red Sea

By Alimat Aliyeva

Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. S.A.K., a company engaged in the transportation of oil and petroleum products, has decided to temporarily stop the passage of its tankers through the Red Sea due to the situation in the region, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.

The decision will be reviewed as the situation stabilizes.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, representatives of the rebel Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) announced that they would strike at Israeli territory and would not allow ships associated with it to pass through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the enclave was terminated.

According to calculations by the Central Command of the US Armed Forces, since mid-November last year, the Houthis have attacked more than 30 civilian vessels in the Red Sea. Against the background of the aggravation of the situation, many companies decided to send ships that usually went to Europe through the Suez Canal through the Cape of Good Hope in southern South Africa.