BP reroutes oil tankers away from Red Sea after Houthi attacks

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- British Oil giant BP said Monday it was rerouting all its oil tankers away from the Red Sea citing the "deteriorating security situation" due to missile strikes on vessels by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Given the perilous situation for shipping in the Red Sea the decision had been made to "temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea," the company said in a statement.

"In our trading and shipping business, as in all BP businesses, the safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP's priority. We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region."

The announcement came as the Norwegian owners of the oil tanker MT Swan Atlantic said the vessel was struck Monday by an "unidentified object" off the coast of Yemen while en route from France to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

"Fortunately, there were no injuries to any members of the Indian crew, and the vessel has reported limited damage to the vessel," said owner Inventor Chemical Tankers, adding that MT Swan Atlantic was sailing under her own steam with all systems operating.

"The crew and the ship are now assisted by the U.S. Navy and will be brought to safety under protection by naval forces."

BP was joined Monday by Taiwan's Evergreen in a growing list of sea freight companies to take precautionary measures with the shipping giant saying it was ceasing shipping Israel-bound goods via the globally-important sea route.

"For the safety of ships and crew, Evergreen Line has decided to temporarily stop accepting Israeli cargo with immediate effect, and has instructed its container ships to suspend navigation through the Red Sea until further notice," the BBC quoted the company as saying.

French shipping company CMA CGM Group, citing "deep safety concerns" over the recent attacks on commercial vessels announced Saturday that it had instructed with immediate effect all its containerships in the region scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to proceed to "safe waters" and pause their journey until further notice.

MSC and Maersk, the world's largest and second-largest shipping carriers announced Friday they were pausing all travel via the Red Sea.

Maersk took the step in response to an "alarming" situation on Friday after a "near-miss" incident involving a missile and its Maersk Gibraltar container vessel while MSC said following an attack on its Platinum III container ship its vessels would no longer sail through the Suez Canal in either direction.

German carrier Hapag-Lloyd has also said it is rerouting its ships via South Africa's Cape of Good Hope until the Red Sea "will be safe again for vessels and their crews."

It is unclear whether any of the vessels targeted thus far were bound for Israel.