WSC says Operation Prosperity Guardian to aid maritime security amid Red Sea attacks

The World Shipping Council, or WSC, said the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative, would help protect seafarers and defend the freedom of navigation amid heightened attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

"The mission of this task force is critical to protecting seafarers and to defending the foundational principle of freedom of navigation," it said.

This comes after the US Department of Defense on its website Dec. 18 said that the initiative was being launched under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153.

"The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in the statement.

"Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity," he added.

The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, operated by Japan's NYK, and owned by British Company Ray Car Carriers was seized by Houthi forces on Nov. 19. Subsequently there have been an increasing number of attacks against merchant ships.

BIMCO, ICS call for secure navigation

Around 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal, representing 30% of all global container traffic and over $1 trillion worth of goods per year, BIMCO said in a separate statement late Dec. 18 while also calling for urgent action to end attacks on international shipping-- seafarers and merchant ships.

"These unlawful attacks represent a gross violation of the freedom of navigation as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and undermine the rules-based international order on which international shipping is so dependant," David Loosley, Secretary General & CEO of BIMCO, said.

Meanwhile, the International Chamber of Shipping, or ICS, on Dec. 15 said in a statement that it deplored the actions of the Houthis and wanted an immediate cessation of these attacks.

Some companies have already rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi aggression which adds cost and delay to global trade, the ICS said.

"The full maritime security architecture in the region should be brought to bear to end these attacks and protect our seafarers and merchant shipping," it said.

Following an escalation in attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi militia, several of the world's largest container ship operators have said their ships will suspend voyages through the key route.

These include Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM.

Asian-headquartered shipping companies such as Evergreen Line and Orient Overseas Container Line have also halted shipments to and from Israel due to rising risk and safety considerations.

Meanwhile, Japan's MOL said Dec. 18 it had diverted a "small number" of Israel-related ships away from the Red Sea shipping route, while Japan's NYK Line said it was considering whether to suspend Red Sea transits.