New Delhi: With Iran-backed Shia Houthi militia coming out in support of Hamas terrorists in Gaza and randomly targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Somalian Pirates playing havoc off the Gulf of Aden, major shipping companies are avoiding Bab El-Mandeb chokepoint as a result of which shipping costs and insurance have gone up.
While Houthi militia are targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with cruise missiles and missile-firing drones to deter them from proceeding to the Israeli port of Eilat, Somalian pirates have taken control of Malta-flagged MV Ruen and are currently proceeding towards Mogadishu in Somalia.
The Indian Navy guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi is in the vicinity of the hijacked ship but the Japanese destroyer JMSDF Akebono has detached itself from the pursuit and has left the vicinity.