How Yemen is Wrecking the Entire Global Economy

While the world's attention remains fixated on the brutal War in Gaza, which has tragically claimed the lives of tens of thousands of individuals, there is another development unfolding in the nearby Red Sea that has the potential to escalate the conflict between Israel and Hamas into a wider Middle East crisis. This crisis is already having a profound impact on the global economy as a whole. Following Israel's full-scale invasion of Gaza, the Houthis, a Shia Muslim military group in Yemen that receives funding and weapons from Iran, unequivocally expressed their support for Hamas and the Palestinian cause against Israel. Despite being geographically distant from Israeli territory by approximately 1,600 km and over 1,800 km away from the primary battleground in Gaza, the Houthis have become a significant factor in this ongoing conflict.

Incapable of actively participating in the ongoing war in the vicinity of Gaza, they made the decision to indirectly intervene in support of Hamas Moore. In November of 2023, the Houthis announced their intention to target any vessel sailing near their territory in the Red Sea that had any connection to Israel. This included ships traveling to or from Israeli ports, ships with Israeli ownership, ships flying the Israeli flag, or ships with an Israeli crew. They further declared that these attacks on Israeli shipping would persist until Israel completely withdrew from Gaza and ceased its conflict with Hamas. However, the Houthi plan encountered a slight obstacle. You see, the ownership structure of the modernized 21st-century merchant shipping fleet is an intricate affair, as merchant ships frequently navigate between different countries for their origin and destination.

The ship's ownership structure is often divided among various nationalities, which may not necessarily be related to the ship's origin or destination. The flag that the ship flies may also be completely different. Additionally, the crew operating the ship may consist of individuals from different nationalities. Determining whether merchant ships operating on the world's oceans are considered Israeli or not is a complex task. However, this complexity did not deter the Houthis from deciding to intervene. They began their attacks on ships they believed to be Israeli on November 19, 2023. Their first attack involved hijacking an empty car carrier sailing through the Red Sea, which was en route from Turkey to India. The Houthis raided the ship using a helicopter to transport a heavily armed Special Forces Squad onto the ship's deck. They quickly subdued the ship's crew and redirected it to the Houthi-controlled Port of Heda in Western Yemen. The ship was named the Galaxy Leader, which was owned by a company called Galaxy Maritime Limited. This company is based in the Isle of Man, a dependency of the United Kingdom. The ship was chartered by a Japanese company and flew the flag of the Bahamas. Its crew of 25 members came from various countries including the Philippines, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Mexico. The only connection the ship had to Israel was through its owner, Galaxy Maritime Limited, which was owned by another company called Ray Car Carriers. This company is co-owned by a well-known Israeli businessman and billionaire named Abraham Unar, who has a current net worth of approximately $3.25 billion US dollars. Due to these circumstances, the Houthi rebels decided to target and seize the ship. This attack was just the beginning, as more attacks followed in the subsequent weeks and months.Following the initial attack, the Houthis have released a deluge of hundreds of missiles and drones, as well as carried out additional hijacking attempts against numerous merchant ships navigating the Red Sea. These merchant ships have connections to various countries worldwide. The Houthis have acquired their missiles, drones, and intelligence from a singular source, their primary supporter, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over the years, Iran has meticulously nurtured the Houthis, transforming them from a disorganized militia into a formidable military force resembling a state, equipped with a vast arsenal of guided anti-ship missiles and swarms of inexpensive kamikaze drones. By leveraging their sheer numbers, the Houthis can overwhelm maritime anti-air defenses. With Iran's backing, they have arguably become the most perilous and heavily armed piracy force in contemporary times. Unlike the pirates of the past who originated from Somalia and targeted commercial shipping in the Arabian Sea, the Houthis possess a significantly more advantageous geographical position to disrupt the global economy.