Santa Claus May Be Delayed due to the West’s lunatic antagonism of Russia, and Iran Block Red Sea Alternatives: For a Europe so dependent on specific trade routes, The clowns in Brussels have shortsightedly used sanctions as a weapon against nations that border alternative trade routes, hurting itself in the process.

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Recently, the Yemeni Shi’ite militant group Ansarullah, which controls most of Yemen, have declared that Israel-linked ships will not be allowed to pass the Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Yemen and the Indian Ocean beyond. Other ships, they said, will still have free passage.

In response to the Yemeni declaration and realizing that some ships with links to Israel had also been attacked, several major shipping companies, including Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, MSC, and oil giant BP have decided to stop using the waterway entirely.

Some 12% of seaborne petroleum and 8% of liquified natural gas (LNG) trade pass through the strait every year, part of $700 billion in annual trade that uses the waterway.

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The anti-Israel blockade is part of Ansarullah’s response to the Israeli vicious bombing campaign and genocidal invasion of the Palestinians living on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 20,000 people since early October and displaced almost the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians. The feisty Yemen group has also fired ballistic missiles at the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

In response to Ansarullah’s declaration, the Pentagon announced the creation of a multinational task force dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian to secure Red Sea trade for Jew boats and restore the confidence of other cargo vessels to use the waterway.

The US has long opposed the rise of Ansarullah and took part in the Saudi-led coalition war that killed a quarter-million people in Yemen and devastated what was already one of the world’s poorest countries.

Paul Goncharoff, chief manager of a consulting firm says, ‘Father Christmas may not arrive’ on time in the European Union this year. The Western Alliance has antagonized all of the nations through which an alternative trade corridor might run.

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He said the situation in the Red Sea ‘is extremely serious and has already delayed shipments from Asia to Europe for the Christmas Festive season.  It impacts many delivery companies – a lot of Europeans will find their Christmas and New Year presents delayed this year, likewise for regular deliveries. Perishable items will be especially affected. There are likely to be significant insurance claims.’ Goncharoff added that redirecting freight traffic from the Red Sea to other routes would take time and not solve the present problem of delays.

‘Europe has blocked routes via Russia, and the alternative International North-South Transport Corridor is not fully opened. Shipments around the Cape of Good Hope take much longer and will not arrive until well after Christmas. As this is a seasonal market, many of these deliveries will lose their deadlines.’

‘The US and EU at present have no other alternatives as they have sanctioned Russia and Iran. They could have diverted ships via the Gulf and north via Iran, and then via Azerbaijan and Turkey to Europe’s Black Sea Ports. However, due to their dumb shortsightedness that route is now cut off.

Or, they could have sent via Iran to Russia at Astrakhan and then over to the Baltic States, Poland and Belarus, but these borders are now closed to Russian and Belarussian traffic,’ he explained.

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Goncharoff said that compared to the March 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal for six days, the present situation ‘will have a longer and possibly long-term impact.’

‘Russia could play a role in getting Santa and his sleigh to Europe; Sadly, its access to ports to Europe is sanctioned by Brussels sprouts,’ he noted. ‘In cutting the country off, the EU has limited their supply chains. When those come under unforeseen stress, the perils of the EU having limited access become apparent.

It is a classic example of how the EU has not fully comprehended the impact of sanctions that they have imposed. Now it means that Father Christmas may either not arrive, or be delayed this year, at least in the UK and Europe.’