A vessel carrying steel from South Korea to Turkey has been hijacked off the coast of Yemen, various sources tell Kallanish.

Sea freight through the Red Sea and Suez Canal has become increasingly vulnerable due to recent attacks on container ships by the Houthi group, purportedly in support of Hamas, as well as the return of Somali pirates. The situation is impacting steel trade, leading to increased costs, prolonged transit times, and delays in cargo shipments.

A Maltese-flagged merchant ship, the Ruen, carrying Posco steel cargo from Gwangyang port to the Turkish port Gemlik was hijacked last week in the Arabian Sea with 18 crew members on board, sources say.

"The vessel is carrying 10,000 tonnes to ArcelorMittal RZK Celik, 10,000t to Borusan, 6,000t to Renault and some amount of Arcelik material. There are some other small clients as well," one source notes. A source at Borusan was not aware of any details, while Arcelik did not respond to request for comment on Thursday. Posco did not respond to request for comment before deadline.

The Ruen, which is managed by Bulgarian shipping company Navibulgar, was off the Yemeni island of Socotra near the Horn of Africa when it was boarded by unknown hijackers, according to media reports. Somali pirates are suspected, despite reduced pirate activity in recent years.

Heightened security measures have been observed in response to increased maritime threats in the Red Sea, involving various naval forces monitoring the hijacked ship.

Recent Houthi attacks have caused shipping companies to pause or reroute shipping away from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope, avoiding the Suez Canal until safe passage is assured. This includes Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), French shipping group CMA CGM, Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen, German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, South Korean container shipper HMM, Norwegian shipping company Hoegh Autoliners, Danish shipping company Maersk, and others, according to Reuters.

The decision to take longer routes around Africa is extending voyages by at least 14 days and significantly inflating shipping costs.