Shipping Chiefs Support Strikes on Houthis, Call for Revamped Yemen Policy

Diplomacy is fine, Republicans say, but first things first: ‘We’re Americans. Somebody hits us, there’s going to be a reckoning and we’re going to hit back.’

Hundreds of cargo ships and tankers are being rerouted around the southern tip of Africa to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, including these container ships in Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, on Jan. 27, 2024. Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images

Commercial carriers and supply chain analysts maintain that the best way to protect Red Sea container shipping is to bolster the government of Yemen so that it can wrest control of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait from the Houthis.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Executive Vice President Bud Darr said a military response to Houthi attacks is necessary. However, if the United States and its allies continue doing so without rebuilding the “neighborhood” alliance that throttled Somali piracy a decade ago, they’re “treating a symptom” but not the problem, he said.