NEW YORK, January 18. /TASS/. The US and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen have only escalated the chaos across the shipping industry, Bloomberg reported.

Shortly after the US and UK launched airstrikes on Yemen, merchant ships were advised to stay away from the Red Sea, the report said. That resulted in a sharp decline in shipments through a waterway that normally handles about 12% of global seaborne trade.

Ship crews get increasingly nervous, deliveries are delayed and the safety situation is fraught, according to Bloomberg. The shipping industry is concerned about inflationary pressure, costlier oil and supply chain disruptions that could damage the global economy, it reported.

On January 12, US and UK aircraft, naval ships and submarines carried out the first strike on Houthis sites in some Yemeni cities. US President Joe Biden said the strikes were defensive and represented a response to Houthis attacks in the Red Sea. The targets included the Houthis sites for launching missiles and drones, along with locations of radar stations.

Overnight into Thursday, the US carried out a fourth series of strikes on Houthi targets. According to the US Central Command, the strikes targeted 14 Houthi missile launchers that were set up to attack ships in the Red Sea. They posed an immediate threat to merchant ships and US Navy ships in the region, according to the US military. Al Masirah reported that the strikes were carried out by the UK and the US.