Tokyo: Japanese shipping firm Nippon Yusen said yesterday it is joining other major companies in suspending routes through the Red Sea over Houthi rebel attacks on vessels in the vital waterway.

       “We have suspended navigation through the Red Sea by all ships we operate,” a spokesman for the firm, also known as NYK Line, told AFP, adding the decision was to “ensure the safety of crews”.

       Since last Friday, US and British forces have been bombing scores of targets inside Houthi-controlled Yemen in response to the attacks by the rebels, who say they are targeting Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza.

       The situation has heightened fears of the Israel-Hamas war flaring across the region and disrupted trade in one of the world’s key maritime commercial routes.

       The waterway between Asian and European markets normally carries about 12% of global maritime trade.

       Diverting around the southern tip of Africa takes longer and is more expensive.

       Two other major Japanese shipping firms – Kawasaki Kisen and Mitsui OSK Lines – have also suspended navigation through the Red Sea, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported Tuesday.

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       Officials of the two companies were not immediately available for comment on the report.

       Last month, Ocean Network Express, a container shipping business jointly set up by the three Japanese firms said that they would avoid the Red Sea.

       In November, the Houthi rebels said that they had seized a ship owned by an Israeli businessman and rerouted it to Yemen’s coast.

       The vessel is operated by Nippon Yusen, which said it had set up a task team to gather information to ensure the safety of the 25-strong crew.

       As of yesterday, however, Nippon Yusen has no fresh information on the seized ship, the spokesman said.

       “We have received no information, while we are worried about” the fate of the vessel and its crew, he said. — AFP