World: In a clear indication of the major victory achieved by the Yemeni Armed Forces over Western forces in the Red Sea, and the unprecedented success in restricting and banning the movement of enemy warships, the British Royal Navy announced the withdrawal of its warship, Duncan, without daring to approach the Red Sea, which it had been sent to, in parallel with the growing sense of despair among British shipping companies about returning to the previous status quo.

The British Navy said in a statement on Sunday that the destroyer HMS Duncan had returned to the United Kingdom after six months of being deployed to the Red Sea to replace the HMS Diamond, which withdrew after suffering several Yemeni attacks.

However, Duncan did not approach the Red Sea since its deployment. It remained stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, and the statement justified this by saying that it was "ordered to stay there due to tensions in the conflict."

In reality, the British destroyer did not dare to approach the Red Sea for fear of being subjected to attacks similar to, or even worse than, those experienced by its predecessor, Diamond. The crew of Diamond admitted in late March that it had failed to intercept any Yemeni ballistic missiles, according to what was reported by the BBC at the time.

The Red Sea battle exposed glaring weaknesses in the British warship fleet, with many reports indicating that British destroyers were unable to detect and counter missiles and drones. This led the British Ministry of Defense to announce in January, just days after the aggression against Yemen began, plans to upgrade the defense systems of its warships to face ballistic missiles and drones. However, this step will take time, and thus the British Navy was forced to evacuate the Red Sea.

The British newspaper The Telegraph reported in early November that the "Foreign Office prevented the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth from deploying in the Red Sea earlier this year," considering the situation in the Red Sea to be an "embarrassment" for the West, and that Yemen had exposed decades of deficiencies in Western naval capabilities.

Undoubtedly, this blatant failure to remain in the Red Sea, along with the curbing of Yemeni operations, has led to the declared "despair" in the UK shipping industry regarding the return of British-linked vessels to the Red Sea, as opposed to the long and costly new route around the Cape of Good Hope.

In this regard, the British shipping magazine Lloyd’s List conducted a survey last week about the potential return to the Red Sea, revealing that 79 percent of shipping sector participants believe this will not happen in 2025, and may occur at a later time.

The magazine also clarified that the mood in London’s shipping industry was "more pessimistic," with 41 percent of those surveyed believing that the Red Sea would not be open until late 2027.

Recently, the African maritime shipping site Freight News quoted Mark Williams from the British maritime consulting firm Shipping Strategy, who said, "We must assume that the Red Sea will remain a forbidden zone indefinitely for many operators," referring to the companies and ships that are vulnerable to targeting, including British ones.

Williams added, "Western navies have not prevented attacks, and Western airstrikes have not put an end to them."

At the same time, Dry Cargo magazine, specializing in bulk cargo transportation, warned that shipping rates could rise in the coming year if what it called "violence in the Red Sea" continues, noting that uncertainty still dominates the situation.

Translated by Almasirah English website