Red Sea attacks by Houthis disrupt global trade. 8 things to know about crisis

The Houthi rebels have declared their support for Hamas saying that they are targeting commercial ships travelling to Israel.

The rising number of attacks by Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, key trading routes, have adversely affected global trade. The Houthi rebels have declared their support for Hamas saying they are targeting commercial ships travelling to Israel using drones and rockets. The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have been attacking ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea for weeks, according to Reuters.

Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif in Yemen on December 5. (Reuters)

Here's the latest on the crisis in the Red Sea.

• The deteriorating security in the Red Sea has forced major shipping companies such as Maersk, MSC and CGM to suspend their services in the seawater inlet.
• Germany's Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong's OOCL on Thursday said they would avoid the Red Sea, the latest shipping companies to do so.
• The hostilities have put a chokehold on ship passages through the Suez Canal. The artificial sea-level waterway handles about 12% of the global trade.
• Due to the disruptions, global shippers of crude and fuels are facing a spike in booking costs as some tankers are taking lengthy diversions. According to Reuters, the cost to ship a container from China to the Mediterranean was up 44% in December alone.
• German international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said it would reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway as freight rates and shipping stocks have increased
• Matthew Burgess, vice president of global ocean services at CH Robinson Worldwide said that it is critical to keep supply chains moving. "The situation remains fluid, things could change quickly, which is why contingency plans that include plans A, B and C are critical to keeping supply chains moving,"he said according to Reuters.
• The Pentagon said that more than 20 countries have agreed to participate in the new US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement.
• Greece said it would send a naval frigate to the area to help protect shipping as part of a multinational coalition. Greek ship owners control about 20% of the world's commercial vessels in terms of carrying capacity.