Houthi attacks in the Red Sea

On November 19, 2023, the Houthis hijacked the Galaxy Leader in the southern Red Sea. Months of missile and drone strikes on merchant ships followed. The Rubymar sank on March 2, 2024; the True Confidence was hit on March 6 and three of its crew were killed; in July 2025, the Magic Seas and then the Eternity C were sunk. Suez transits fell by roughly half, with much of the container fleet rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. For insurers, the crisis shows up first in the additional war risk premium. Hull and machinery policies exclude war; owners buy it back as war risk cover, with a clause that lets the insurer cancel on short notice and charge extra for each transit of an area listed by the Joint War Committee. That additional premium, charged per transit, went from about 0.05% of hull value before the crisis to close to 0.7%, and 1% at the peak. On a ship worth $100 million, that is up to $1 million per passage. Pricing follows flag, owner and port calls: a vessel tied to interests the Houthis have named pays more, or finds no cover. The market kept writing; price did the sorting, and that is what separates the Red Sea from a closed zone. Accumulation risk is real, spanning hulls, cargo, crews and, with the Rubymar, whose anchor is suspected of severing cables, undersea infrastructure. Not to be confused with Somali piracy: same region, but the actor has a political aim and picks its targets without seeking ransom; the war risk policy responds, and the piracy cover does not.