Greece’s Star Bulk to avoid Red Sea after attacks on its ships

Greece-headquartered Star Bulk will halt sailings through the Red Sea after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two of its ships in recent days, the group's CEO said.

The Houthis have targeted commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.

"Going forward, we will not be passing the Suez Canal any more because we are obviously a target of the Houthis - being a public company registered in the U.S.," Star Bulk CEO Petros Pappas told a Feb. 13 earnings call.

Pappas said they had asked the charterers of two separate vessels if they could avoid going through the Suez Canal, which leads into the Red Sea.

"We got advice that we had to follow the charter party and send the vessels through Suez," Pappas said, adding that the first vessel...