HARARE, March 31. /TASS/. Prices for private maritime security guards in the Red Sea region have risen sharply recently due to resurgence of piracy and the activities of the Houthis, the Somali news portal Shabelle Media Network reported citing data from the specialized analytical group Splash Extra.
"With the Red Sea disruption created by the Houthis latterly combined with resurgent pirate attacks off Somalia, demand for armed guards has leaped in 2024, and with it prices have shot up with three-day transits costing as much as $20,000 today," the portal wrote.
Prices have especially risen for long-serving bulk carriers. However, much depends on independent appraisers who determine the cost of protecting a particular vessel. Their activities are not regulated in any way, and the cost of security services that they determine can vary greatly. For example, two experts' estimates differed by more than a quarter in the case of the container ship Ever Given, which may have become the world's most famous merchant vessel after blocking the Suez Canal three years ago.
"The marine appraisal profession is not regulated in the international shipping market, and banks tend to accept appraisals from any broker, without requiring any qualifications - just the premise that brokers have the pulse of the market. Brokers make more money in brokerage commissions than in appraisal fees, thus, some appraisals may be biased," said Basil Karatzas, CEO of New York-based Karatzas Marine Advisors, as quoted by the portal.
Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement warned that it would carry out strikes on Israeli territory and prevent ships affiliated with it from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as long as the operation in the Palestinian enclave continued. Since mid-November last year, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Somali pirates, largely unheard of in the last ten years, have become active again and are threatening shipping near the Horn of Africa, according to Africa news. Since last November, they have made 20 attempts to hijack ships in international waters off the coast of Somalia.