The Red Sea Attack Affected Steel Shipments, And A Ship From South Korea's Posco To Turkey Was Hijacked

Maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Suez Canal is said to be increasingly vulnerable due to recent attacks on container ships by the pro-Hamas Houthi group and a resurgence of Somali pirates. The situation is affecting the steel trade, leading to increased costs, longer transit times, and delays in cargo shipments.

Sources said that a Maltese-flagged merchant ship Ruen was hijacked in the Arabian Sea last week with 18 crew members on board. The ship carried cargo from Gwangyang Port in South Korea to Gemlik Port in Turkey. ) of Pohang Steel.

A source said: "The ship is carrying 10,000 tonnes of cargo for ArcelorMittal RZK ÇELİK (ArcelorMittal Turkey), 10,000 tonnes for Borusan, 10,000 tonnes for Renault 6,000 tons of cargo, as well as some Arcelik (Arcelik, a Turkish multinational household appliance manufacturer that mainly manufactures home appliances, electronic products and kitchen accessories) materials. There are also some other small customers."

A source at Borusan was unaware of any details, Arcelik did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday and Posco did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

According to media reports, the Ruen, managed by Bulgarian shipping company Navibulgar, was hijacked by unidentified hijackers in the waters off the Yemeni island of Socotra near the Horn of Africa. Although piracy has declined in recent years, Somali pirates are still suspected.

Security measures have been stepped up in response to growing maritime threats in the Red Sea, and multiple maritime forces are keeping an eye on hijacked ships.