At least ten major shipping companies have announced they would cease operations in the Red Sea, lengthening shipping times and creating bottlenecks, delays, and increased costs in global trade due to the attacks of the Iran-backed Houthis.
Globes reports thar the Houthi blockade, originally officially only meant to target ships affiliated with or destined to ship to Israel, has sufficiently scared major shipping companies away from taking the shortest shipping route from Europe to the Middle East and southern Asia.
This comes at the same time as the Panama Canal, the vital shipping shortcut in the Western Hemisphere, is suffering from bottlenecks due to a historic drought, according to the same source.
According to reporting by POLITICO and Fox, the United States is expected to announce the formation of Operation Prosperity Garden, a task force meant to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower has already been spotted moving towards this area and will presumably lead any such force.
What exactly this task force will be authorized to do to protect shipping and what it can and will do to stop the Houthi blockade remains in question.