BP joins firms in pausing all shipments through Red Sea
A growing number of companies, including BP, have paused shipments through the Red Sea after recent attacks on vessels by Houthi rebels.
The oil giant revealed on Monday that it had temporarily stopped its shipping operations via the Suez Canal.
“The safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP’s priority,” the company said.
“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea.”
BP followed in the footsteps of shipping giants Maersk, Swiss-based MSC and French group CMA CGM in avoiding the area.
Hapag-Lloyd later added its name.
Evergreen announced that it had temporarily suspended import and export services in Israel until further notice, citing the security risk, in addition to halting journeys via the Suez Canal.
“We ask for your understanding under these serious circumstances”, the container ship firm told its clients.
Operations through the canal started to be paused on Friday following attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
The group, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, has vowed to target vessels which it believes are heading to and from Israel.
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It emerged on Saturday that Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond, sent to the region two weeks ago, had shot down a drone in the Red Sea that was deemed a threat.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said then that attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery represented “a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security”.
HMS Diamond fires a Sea Viper missile to shoot down an ariel drone over the Red Sea. Pic: Ministry of Defence
“The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he said in a statement.
The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel.
Earlier this month, three commercial ships were struck by ballistic missiles and a US warship shot down a further three drones.
The Suez Canal is a key route for global trade, particularly for the transport of oil, grain and consumer goods from east Asia.
Journeys via the Cape of Good Hope instead typically add about 3,000 miles.
That can take up to an additional week.
The prospect of longer journeys to complete deliveries is raising transit costs, albeit from record low levels, and boosting the share prices of listed shipping firms as a result.
The disruption has also been blamed for a rise in global oil prices, with Brent crude oil up by more than 1% on Monday to stand at $77 per barrel.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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