DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

GS-II : International Relations International issues

27 December, 2023
2 Min Read

Operation Prosperity Guardian

Houthi militants from Yemen have attacked or seized commercial ships near the Red Sea amidst the ongoing Gaza war.

It is a multinational security initiative in the Red Sea.

Launched by – USA

Partner countries – UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined and others.

Coordinated by – Combined Maritime Forces, Task Force 153.

The Combined Maritime Forces is a multi-naval taskforce with 39 members including India and Pakistan. It was set up in 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

Role – Increased presence of military ships and joint patrols.While they will not necessarily escort a specific vessel, they will provide umbrella protection to as many as possible.

Red Sea

The nearly 2,000-km Red Sea connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the narrow Suez Canal (since 1869).
Importance – According to the US agency, the Suez Canal accounted for 9.2 million barrels per day of total oil flows in the first half of 2023.
Another estimate says that about 12% of global trade depends on the Suez Canal, compared to 5% on the Panama Canal.

Impact of attacks – Oil prices rose fearing about the problems that could confront global shipping and logistics.
The journeys could increase by 2 weeks because of the re-routing through Africa.
A container bound for the Middle East will now attract a war risk surcharge.

The Houthis are Zaydi Shias, a sub-sect of Shia Islam are in civil war with the Yemen government by controlling northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa while the government now operates out of Aden.

Source:

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GS-II : International Relations Maritime security

23 December, 2023
2 Min Read

Operation Prosperity Guardian

Houthi militants from Yemen have attacked or seized commercial ships near the Red Sea amidst the ongoing Gaza war.

It is a multinational security initiative in the Red Sea.
Launched by – USA
Partner countries – UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined and others.
Coordinated by – Combined Maritime Forces, Task Force 153.

Role – Increased presence of military ships and joint patrols.
While they will not necessarily escort a specific vessel, they will provide umbrella protection to as many as possible.

Red Sea

The nearly 2,000-km Red Sea connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the narrow Suez Canal (since 1869).

Importance – According to the US agency, the Suez Canal accounted for 9.2 million barrels per day of total oil flows in the first half of 2023.

Another estimate says that about 12% of global trade depends on the Suez Canal, compared to 5% on the Panama Canal.

Impact of attacks – Oil prices rose fearing about the problems that could confront global shipping and logistics.

The journeys could increase by 2 weeks because of the re-routing through Africa.
A container bound for the Middle East will now attract a war risk surcharge.

Source:

Join Our Telegram

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