Red Sea disruption threatens Italy's economic stability

Ongoing disruption in the Red Sea threatens to destabilize Italy's economy and marginalize ports in southern Europe, Italy's defense minister said on Thursday.

Attacks since mid-November on commercial vessels by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populated parts of Yemen, have disrupted international shipping, forcing some companies to suspend transit through the Red Sea and instead take a much longer, costlier journey around South Africa.

"From a geopolitical perspective, continuing this situation could lead to the marginalization of ports on the Mediterranean Sea," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told lawmakers from parliament's defense committees.

"Not only does it threaten navigation security but also (Italy's) economic stability."

The minister said that commercial traffic through the Suez Canal -- which he estimated to represent some 40 percent of Italy's total maritime trade -- had dropped by 38 percent by the last week of 2023. 

He added that navigation times increased by 10-12 days, and costs increased almost five-fold.

Crosetto said that, within the framework of the European operation in Aspides, Italy was considering sending aircraft with surveillance and data collection tasks in addition to the military vessel it would supply for 12 months.

Reuters