One of the world’s largest exporters of liquified natural gas reportedly has stopped sending tankers through the Red Sea following recent joint U.S.-U.K. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday that QatarEnergy is directing tankers away from the busy shipping corridor. The development comes on the same day that an American-owned ship in the nearby Gulf of Aden was hit with a missile fired from Yemen, according to U.S. officials.
"It is a pause to get security advice, if passing [through the] Red Sea remains unsafe we will go via the Cape" of Good Hope in South Africa, the source added. "It is not a halt of production."
At least six tankers altered their course away from the Red Sea on Monday, bringing the total to divert since the U.S. and British militaries launched retaliatory airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthis last week to 15, Reuters is reporting, citing ship tracking data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Kpler.
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Throughout 2023, Qatar shipped more than 75 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas, mostly to Europe and Asia, Reuters also reported, citing LSEG statistics.
The U.S. Central Command said Monday that the ship that was targeted in the Gulf of Aden was the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier owned by Eagle Bulk, a shipping company based in Connecticut.
"On Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship," U.S. Central Command said on X.
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There were no reports of injuries or significant damage.
President Biden said last Thursday that "at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways."
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"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history," Biden added. "These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation."
FOX Business’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
