MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Sovcomflot is assessing the situation and safety of fleet movement in the Red Sea and cannot predict permanent operation there, the company’s press service told TASS.

"The danger to navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has always existed. When it worsens, the company assesses the situation for the safety of fleet movement. Due to the escalation of hostilities in the region, it is currently impossible to predict whether the company will continue to work there permanently," the company’s representative said.

The official noted that the company operates single passages in the Red Sea in accordance with the current safety protocol. Sovcomflot is closely monitoring the development of the situation in the Red Sea and assessing the risks. It does not rule out the use of alternative routes in the event of an escalation of the situation, the official said.

The company official added that the situation in the Suez Canal has led to "an increase in the speed of delivery and a rise in transport costs," and in some cases the situation affected the economy of a number of companies." This ultimately affects the speed of trade turnover and leads to disruption of logistics chains.

On situation in the Red Sea

On the night of January 12, the United States and the United Kingdom delivered air strikes on rebel-held positions in several Yemeni cities, using aircraft, warships and submarines. US President Joe Biden said the military action was ordered in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on shipping in the Red Sea and that the strikes were delivered in self-defense.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. According to the US Defense Department’s Central Command’s (CENTCOM) estimates, the Yemeni rebel group has attacked more than 20 vessels and civilian ships in the Red Sea since mid-November.