More ships to avoid Red Sea as attacks disrupt world trade

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday it was the latest company planning to avoid the Red Sea after attacks there by Yemen's Houthi group on merchant vessels, which have disrupted global trade and triggered a multinational naval action. 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 because of the disruption. The Iran-aligned 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 in what they say is a response to Israel's war in Gaza.