Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea divert traffic around Africa

What happened

On 2023-11-19 (19 November 2023) the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader was seized in the Red Sea near Hodeidah, the first in a run of attacks on merchant ships that the United Kingdom government and other states attribute to the Houthi movement. Attacks with missiles, drones and boarding parties followed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. From 2023-12-15 (15 December 2023) Maersk paused its ships bound for the strait and then routed services around the Cape of Good Hope, and other carriers did the same, moving a large share of Asia to Europe traffic off the Suez route. Attacks paused between late 2025 and early 2026 and some services returned, then threats and rerouting resumed. As of 2026-09-15 (15 September 2026) no dated official announcement records an end.

The vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader is boarded from a helicopter and taken to the Yemeni coast near Hodeidah with its crew aboard. [s3]

The United Kingdom government condemns what it calls the unlawful seizure of the ship by the Houthis and demands the release of vessel and crew. [s1]

Maersk instructs all of its vessels bound for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to pause, citing a near miss involving one of its ships the day before and a further attack on a container ship. [s2]

Maersk says the paused ships will instead sail around Africa by way of the Cape of Good Hope. [s2]

After an attack on one of its ships, Maersk pauses all transits through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden until further notice and diverts them around the Cape. [s2]

After a pause in attacks from about November 2025, officials of the group are reported as saying they will resume attacks on merchant ships, and Maersk again moves selected services to the Cape route. [s4]

Reporting from the region describes Houthi control of the Yemeni Red Sea coast and says operators are still routing around the Cape rather than through the strait. [s5]