Yemen's Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented, the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOOC) said.
The Sanaa-bsed HOCC, which liaises between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators and is associated with the Houthi military, said it was stopping "sanctions" against vessels owned by US or British individuals or entities, as well as ships sailing under their flags.
"We affirm that, in the event of any aggression against the Republic of Yemen by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, or the usurping Israeli entity, the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor," it said in an email sent to shipping industry officials dated Jan. 19.
"You will be promptly informed of such measures should they be implemented."
The HOCC said the Houthis would stop targeting Israeli-linked ships "upon the full implementation of all phases of the agreement."
Many of the world's biggest shipping companies have suspended voyages through the Red Sea and diverted their vessels around southern Africa to avoid being attacked.
The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.
They have targeted the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are joined by the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages in Gaza and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war.
Caution
Executives from shipping, insurance and retail industries told Reuters last week that they were not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route because of uncertainty over whether the Houthis would continue to attack shipping.
A spokesperson for Germany container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday the company was still monitoring the situation, adding: "We will return to the Red Sea when it is safe to do so."
The Houthis have attacked ships in recent months based on outdated information, Jakob Larsen, chief safety & security officer with shipping association BIMCO, said.
"In recent months, they have made several false claims about successful attacks, thereby slightly undermining their credibility," he said on Monday.
"Assuming the ceasefire holds and the US also refrains from using force, shipping companies are expected to gradually resume operations through the Red Sea."
Insurers were also were waiting for test voyages to determine if war risk premiums would ease, market sources said on Monday, asking not to be named.
Higher war risk insurance premiums, paid when vessels sail through the Red Sea, have meant additional costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a seven-day voyage for any ships still sailing through the area.
The Houthis hold the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader and its 25 crew members, which was seized by the militia's commandos in international waters in November 2023.
"The Filipinos, Mexicans, Romanians, Bulgarians, and Ukrainian who were on board are desperate to leave Yemen," the vessel's owner Galaxy Maritime Ltd and manager STAMCO Ship Management said on Monday.
"Some have been hospitalized with malaria and one can only guess at their mental state."