The United States is Amazed That Indonesian Oil Ships Can Safely Pass Through The Red Sea

Mytips.id - One of Indonesia's Tanker ships, Gamsunoro Pertamina, caused quite a stir. This was because the vessel managed to cross the Red Sea amidst attacks from Houthi militants, along with their allies Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and others. 

Successfully passing through the Red Sea battle area between the US and the Houthi, the Indonesian Pertamina tanker ship was reported by Vesselfinder on January 26, 2024, as docked in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

The Indonesian Pertamina tanker ship, Gamsunoro, was stated by Vessel Finder to be sailing at a speed of 9.4 knots and is estimated to arrive there on January 26th at 14:00 after navigating the tense Red Sea due to the conflict between the US and the Yemeni Houthi. 

The tension in the Red Sea, which the Gamsunoro Indonesia successfully sailed through, began after the Houthi declared their support for Hamas following the Israel-Hamas conflict that started in October 2023.

At that time, the Houthi group announced that they would target any ships departing from or heading to Israel in retaliation for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. 

Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the group wanted to "prevent Israeli ships from traversing the Red Sea (and the Gulf of Aden) until Israel's aggression against our loyal brothers in the Gaza Strip stops."

However, only a few ships targeted in attacks had left or were headed to Israel, and this incident has caused the world's largest container company to avoid the region. 

As a result, the US and the UK launched air strikes on Yemen as a response to the Houthi group. The Houthi group then pledged to continue attacking ships in the Red Sea after the air strikes. 

Attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea continued, but the Indonesian tanker ship Gamsunoro apparently managed to escape the Houthi. According to US News Money on January 18th, the US media were surprised that only two Aframax tanker ships managed to pass through the attacked Bab al-Mandab Strait.

"Two Aframax tankers that passed through Bab al-Mandab on January 17th after previously avoiding the Red Sea were Gamsunoro under the Indonesian flag and Free Spirit under the Marshall Islands flag. These two tankers carried heavy fuel and last stopped in Fujairah - one of the largest oil fuel centers in the world - in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to data," said the US economic media. 

However, attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping routes between Europe and Asia, which account for about 15% of global shipping traffic. 

Many of the largest container shipping companies mostly or completely avoid this route. Instead, they travel further around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. 

CEO of Maersk, the largest container shipping company, Vincent Clerc, told the Financial Times that rebuilding a safe route through the Red Sea could take months. A World Bank report released this week warned that disruptions to major shipping routes "erode supply network flexibility and increase the likelihood of inflationary pressures."

The GAMSUNORO ship (IMO 9677313, MMSI 525008093) is a Crude Oil Tanker built in 2014 (10 years ago) and is currently sailing under the Indonesian flag. Indonesia, being a supporter of Palestine, seems bold enough to cross the Red Sea by sending hidden code messages to the Houthi.