• Source:JND
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The USS George HW Bush is said to be making a very long detour all the way around the coast of Africa to get to the Middle East, instead of going through the Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal and Red Sea due to security issues from Houthi threats and rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The carrier was recently seen off the coast of Namibia, as it continues on its way to the Arabian Sea, where it will meet with USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at that location since February.

Instead of using the normal, shorter route from Norfolk through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, and Red Sea to the Arabian Sea, the Carrier Strike Group that the George HW Bush is a part of will continue to travel to the Indian Ocean from the southern tip of Africa, via the Cape of Good Hope.

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The distance from Norfolk to the Arabian Sea via the Red Sea is approximately 8,000 to 9,000 nautical miles via the usual route. Due to the fact that the carrier strike group is making a long detour across African waters, the total distance will be approximately 13,000 to 15,000 nautical miles, or about 1.5 times the distance as going via the typical route.

Houthi Threat in the Red Sea

The Houthis have become increasingly active in the Red Sea corridor by claiming their attacks against ships with US, Israeli and allied designations as retaliation against ongoing conflicts being waged in the region. While the Houthis say their activity is in protest of such issues within the region, these attacks have raised significant issues with respect to maritime security along one of the world’s most important trade routes.

As a choke point connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is an essential transit point for the transportation of oil and cargo shipments globally, measuring only 32 kilometres in width. The attacks that have been carried out in the Red Sea corridor have already forced numerous commercial shipping companies to change their shipping routes, increasing their time and cost of shipment dramatically by going around the entire west coast of the African continent.

Military analysts continue to assess that both the Houthis capability of employing both anti-ship missiles and drones, as well as utilising fast-attack craft, have contributed to the increasing amount of risk to the use of any type of military or naval formations that operate within the area; thus, the risk is more likely to continue, as well as to the vessels themselves.

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Rising Maritime Security Concerns

While the Pentagon has not officially expressed the reason for this move, many assume it was done as an added measure to prevent possible assaults on US vessels in the Red Sea and Bab el Mandeb Strait, where Houthi militias have attacked both commercial and military vessels using missiles and drones in the past.

Though US carrier strike groups are still among the most capable naval forces across the globe, experts say that the changing nature of the threats in constrained maritime areas such as Bab el-Mandeb necessitates new strategic calculations and approaches.

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