• Retailers who source their products from China and India face delays and cost increases
• Houthis say they targeted oil tanker Pollux

JEDDAH: Global retail chains based in Europe urged the EU on Friday to take urgent steps to halt Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea that are disrupting international trade.

Missile and drone strikes by the Iran-backed militia since mid-November have forced shipping companies to reroute container vessels, disrupting supply chains for companies reliant on the Suez Canal to ship products from Asia to Europe and the US.

On Saturday, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at British oil tanker Pollux in the Red Sea, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement. 

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the Pollux, a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying crude oil bound for India, was hit by a missile on its port side. 

Retailers who source products from factories in China, India and and southeast Asia have faced delays and cost increases as the alternative shipping route around Africa’s southern tip takes up to three weeks longer, resulting in higher fuel and labour expenses.

The retail industry umbrella body Eurocommerce told Belgium’s foreign minister that the attacks had already had “massive impacts” on businesses.
“The longer carriers are forced to reroute, the more businesses, and ultimately consumers, will suffer from additional costs adding to the already high costs of living in Europe,” Eurocommerce said.

“Given the magnitude of the impacts on businesses and the global supply chain, we appeal for continued intensified and coordinated efforts by the EU institutions and member states to address the situation,”

Eurocommerce members include supermarket giants Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, Lidl, M&S, and Tesco, and fashion retailers H&M, Inditex, and Primark.

Alarm is also being raised in India. “Last week, I lost a big order to a Polish competitor who does not need to pay increased freight rates,” said Atul Jhunjhunwala, head of an engineering company in Kolkata that ships about 700 containers a year.

“No one can afford to lose buyers we have worked with for decades,” he said.

( with Reuters)