Commercial vessels in the Red Sea have begun using innovative solutions in an attempt to avoid an attack by the Houthi rebels, reports Bloomberg, citing Agerpres.

An example is the livestock vessel Cattle Force, which appealed to the Houthi rebels as fellow believers to ensure its safe passage through the Red Sea. On Sunday, as it approached the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the vessel changed its destination signal, visible on the Internet to most vessels, from the Iraqi port to the phrase:

“All crew members are Muslims.”

According to data analyzed by Bloomberg, the ship returned to its previous destination, the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, on Monday morning after safely passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The change is intended to send a message to the Houthi rebels, who say they are attacking ships linked to Israel and its allies, to pressure them to end the war in Gaza.

Merchant ships used to mark their destinations as “No contact with Israel” to avoid being attacked by Houthi rebels. Located at the end of the Red Sea, 12% to 15% of world trade in goods and 25% to 30% of sea container traffic pass through the Suez Canal.

For the European Union in 2022, approximately 23% of all imported goods came by ship from Asia, and the vast majority of these ships passed through the Suez Canal. Due to attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea, major shipping companies have decided to reroute their ships to a longer and more expensive route that involves bypassing the Cape of Good Hope.

But this route adds 10-15 days to the journey between Asia and Europe.