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A Chinese flag is seen in front of the Friendship bridge over the Yalu River connecting the North Korean town of Sinuiju and Dandong in China

A Chinese flag is seen in front of the Friendship bridge over the Yalu River connecting the North Korean town of Sinuiju and Dandong in China's Liaoning Province on April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

Will Ships Link With China To Avoid Houthis?

Bloomberg
Total Views: 3958
January 11, 2024

By Alex Longley (Bloomberg) At least five vessels transiting the Red Sea are using their signals to say they have links to China — the latest unusual measure taken to try and avoid attack by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. 

Each of the ships is signaling “all Chinese crew” or something similar in a field that would normally contain its destination. Two are currently in the Red Sea, while two more have navigated the risky waterway and are now sailing to Asia. A fifth appears to be heading toward the Gulf of Aden. 

Vessel nameCurrent Signal
EVA GLOBAL20 CHINESE CREW
OVP TAURUSCNTAO_ALL CHINESE
STONEWALL GLORYEGEDG ALL CHINESE
AN HAI WANCHINESE SHIP CREW
PACIFIC WEALTHSGSIN_CHN VSL&CREW

Since early November, there has been a surge in attacks on merchant ships transiting the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis. They say they are targeting vessels with links to Israel to protest against its military campaign in Gaza, though ships with no direct connection to Israel have also been affected.

The result has been significant disruption to swaths of the global merchant fleet. 

Also Read: Operation Prosperity Guardian: Whose Prosperity is Being Guarded? by Sal Mercogliano

Suez Canal transits have plunged, falling to the lowest level since the waterway was blocked by a giant container ship in 2021, as many ships choose to avoid the Red Sea and instead sail thousands of miles around Africa to deliver their goods. 

The five ships’ destinations show that their crew — or the companies that own the carriers — believe that being affiliated with the Asian country could help avert attack. Ship destinations are normally entered manually by the crew and are then visible to almost anyone on the internet.

The signals advertising Chinese connections follow a similar move by some ships that had been indicating no links to Israel. There are currently five such vessels, of which four are in the Red Sea. 


Vessel name
Current Signal
POCAHONTASVL NO CONTACT ISRAEL
DALIAN STAR DVL NO CONTACT ISRAEL
KOTA RAHMATVSL NO LINK ISRAEL
BRIOLETTEVSL NO CNTCT ISRAEL

By Alex Longley © 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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