“Total”: We no longer send ships through the Red Sea

French oil major Total Energies said on Wednesday that it has not sent ships through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait leading to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal for several weeks, increasing the time it takes for its ships to sail to Europe.

According to Reuters, the movement of ships through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, located at the southern end of the Red Sea, was disrupted due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships, which led to higher shipping costs.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of Total Energies, said that the costs of transit through the Red Sea had risen, attributing this to reasons including increased insurance costs.