Star Bulk Carriers, a major Greek-owned maritime shipping company, on Wednesday announced that it aims to stop sending vessels through the Suez Canal, after two of its ships came under attack by Yemen-based Houthi rebels within one week.
Star Bulk CEO Petros Pappas, speaking in a teleconference with investors, said the company has requested from the two vessels’ charterers not to sail through the Red Sea, as the southern end of the large waterway and the Gulf of Aden are sites of the Houthi attacks.
At the same time, Pappas said the company cannot legally impose this decision on charterers of active vessel charters.
“Up until that time, we didn’t know about the attacks on the ships Eagle Bulk and Genko…we were notified that we had to adhere to the charter and send the ships through the Suez. As a result, the first ship passed and was attacked three times. Fortunately, no one was injured. But while this was happening, the second ship was already passing through the Suez, so we couldn’t divert it either. And it continued and was attacked. In the future, we will no longer pass through the Suez Canal because we’re obviously a target for the Houthis, given that we operate a public company listed in the United States,” Pappas emphasized.
