Yemen is becoming increasingly riskier to sail through as the violence of the Yemen war continues to escalate, and is now damaging the regional commercial maritime industry, according to Gulf News.
Ian Millen, COO of international monitoring organisation Dryad Maritime, said: “A lot of opportunities to trade in Yemen have been denied to the commercial shipping industry because the war is ongoing. In terms of running proper maritime trade through the area that will cause problems.”
Commercial saw the risks associated with increased military activity in early 2015 as fighting in the country escalated.
And for those still willing to sail to Yemen face having their vessels boarded and inspected by the coalition.
Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, said: “It seems as if the ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden, in the guarded corridor [have] not been affected by the fighting at all. It has been contained on shore — not disrupting the international shipping transits in the area.”
Tim Hart, Maritime Manager at Control Risks, said: “When we started to see the escalation in military activity within the country, there were concerns about a blockade or restriction of shipping through the Bab Al Mandab but that’s not what happened. Trade [has] very much continued to flow through this area.”
