A twelve-nation coalition issued what is billed as its final warning to the Yemeni Houthis to stop all attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and release two hijacked ships and their crews, or they "will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways." 

The joint statement by the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States was telegraphed last weekend (REPORT: Houthis Will Be Given Ultimatum to Stop Attacking Maritime Traffic or Else). An aggressive intervention by helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower resulting in three Houthi pirate ships sunk while attempting to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou showed that patience was wearing thin (Houthi Rebels Finally Find Out After U.S. Navy Retaliates During Tanker Attack).

However, it may have come too late to be of much use. Today, the Houthis hit and damaged the French-owned, Malta-flagged container ship CMA CGM TAGE en route to Alexandria, Egypt, from Singapore.

CMA CGM containership latest to be targeted by Houthis in Red Sea Jan 2. no confirmation BUT @UK_MTO reports incident, Ambrey says Malta-flagged boxship sees 3 explosions near port quarter. CMA CGM Tage is only Malta-flagged box ship in vicinity. story is breaking pic.twitter.com/KcxBKmmLt1

— Michelle Wiese Bockmann (@Michellewb_) January 3, 2024

Tuesday, shipping giant Maersk announced it will no longer use the Red Sea.

So now Maersk has given up on Red Sea.

If nobody intervenes, we lose Suez Canal and we are back to 100 years ago navigation 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/aWzr8FReDF

— Marco Castelli (@macastel3) January 2, 2024

This video demonstrates the flight of commercial shipping from the Red Sea.

How the world changed in 10 days

A time-lapse visualizing the Houthi blockade at Red Sea chokepoint. pic.twitter.com/D3E582scEf

— Propaganda and co (@propandco) January 1, 2024

And the cost of that flight is starting to show up in freight rates. This graph shows container prices from China to the West Coast are increasing. This reflects a 65 percent increase in cost. Charges for containers from China to the US East Coast are up 55 percent, but they were already a third more expensive than West Coast deliveries.

It is a matter of weeks until this price increase appears on Walmart and Costco shelves.

The other troubling aspect of this announcement is that of the twelve nations making it, only the US, UK, and Italy have surface combatants in the area. France's single frigate is on anti-piracy patrol off the Horn of Africa as France, unlike Italy, seems to be holding firm in refusing to place its ships under US command (Red Sea Security Coalition Melts Down As Member Nations Refuse to Accept US Leadership).

Whether this is a serious response to an Iranian-managed attack on two maritime chokepoints and a key trade route or more bluster will be obvious in the next week or two.

Text of Statement

Recognizing the broad consensus as expressed by 44 countries around the world on December 19, 2023, as well as the statement by the UN Security Council on December 1, 2023, condemning Houthi attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea, and in light of ongoing attacks, including a significant escalation over the past week targeting commercial vessels, with missiles, small boats, and attempted hijackings,

We hereby reiterate the following and warn the Houthis against further attacks:

Ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing. There is no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels. 

Attacks on vessels, including commercial vessels, using unmanned aerial vehicles, small boats, and missiles, including the historic first use of anti-ship ballistic missiles against such vessels, are a direct threat to the freedom of navigation that serves as the bedrock of global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

These attacks threaten innocent lives from all over the world and constitute a significant international problem that demands collective action.  

Nearly 15 percent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8 percent of global grain trade, 12 percent of seaborne-traded oil and 8 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade. International shipping companies continue to reroute their vessels around through the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant cost and weeks of delay to the delivery of goods, and ultimately jeopardizing the movement of critical food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance throughout the world.

Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews.  The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. 

We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.