Vessels have to go through the passage to get to the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of world trade and is a major maritime choke point.

船隻必須通過這條通道才能到達蘇伊士運河，蘇伊士運河的貿易量約佔世界貿易量的 12%，是一個主要的海上咽喉。

But this is also one of the most dangerous shipping areas on the globe.

但這裡也是全球最危險的航運區之一。

In the months following the Hamas-Israel war, a commercial ship was hijacked here.

在哈馬斯-以色列戰爭之後的幾個月裡，一艘商船在這裡被劫持。

Another was targeted by a drone here and these circles represent other attacks by militants on boats in the strategic zone.

另一個目標是這裡的一架無人機，這些圓圈代表了武裝分子對戰略區內船隻的其他襲擊。

Avoiding it means adding thousands of nautical miles by traveling around the cape at the bottom of Africa, an expensive and time-consuming venture.

要避開它，就意味著要繞過非洲底部的海角，增加數千海里的航程，這是一項既昂貴又耗時的冒險。

Instead, some vessels are looking to bolster security to avoid disruption in the Red Sea and mitigate against delays that could see consumer prices rise.

相反，一些船隻正在尋求加強安全，以避免在紅海出現混亂，並減少可能導致消費者價格上漲的延誤。

Here's how?

伊朗支持的葉門武裝組織胡塞武裝（Houthis）最近在這條重要水道上對商船發動了襲擊。

Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the key waterway have been launched by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group in Yemen.

The Houthis are using positions next to the Barra Mandab to target merchant vessels, in what it says is a response to the Hamas-Israel war.

胡塞武裝利用 Barra Mandab 附近的陣地襲擊商船，稱這是對哈馬斯-以色列戰爭的迴應。

They have attacked boats with missiles, with drones and in one case, seized a boat in a very dramatic heist.

他們曾用無人機發射飛彈襲擊船隻，並在一次非常戲劇性的搶劫中奪取了一艘船。

This body cam footage shows the moment armed militants land a helicopter on the deck of a cargo ship before storming into the bridge.

這個身體攝影機鏡頭顯示，武裝分子先將一架直升機降落在一艘貨輪的甲板上，然後衝進艦橋。

The vessel was traveling on the Red Sea.

船隻在紅海上行駛。

A vital passage for shipping goods through the Suez Canal from Asia into Europe to the rest of the world.

蘇伊士運河是貨物從亞洲運往歐洲和世界其他地區的重要通道。

More than 20% of all the containers that move around the world by sea go through Suez about 10% of crude oil, lots of cars, chemicals, liquefied natural gas, all sorts.

全世界 20% 以上的海運貨櫃都要經過蘇伊士運河，其中約 10% 是原油，還有大量汽車、化學品、液化天然氣等。

But the attacks led major shipping companies including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to suspend operations in the area.

但這些襲擊導致包括面具和哈帕克勞埃德在內的主要航運公司暫停在該地區的業務。

Instead, they are sending ships via the cape of good hope in South Africa.

相反，他們通過南非的好望角派出船隻。

However, this route is much longer and costs more in fuel, taking on average 43 days., resulting in higher prices for businesses.

然而，這條路線更長，燃料成本更高，平均耗時 43 天，導致企業的價格更高。

The Red Sea routes by contrast takes 34 days.

相比之下，在任何涉及海岸線國家的戰爭或衝突中，紅海航線都需要 34 天。航運公司面臨著一個問題。

In any war or conflict involving countries with the coastline, shipping companies are faced with a question.

Do they want to keep on operating in those waters or not?

他們想繼續在這些水域作業嗎？不是嗎？

And this is a dangerous industry at times but some people with the gauntlet and can be rewarded for doing so.

有時，這是一個危險的行業，但有些人經受住了考驗，並是以獲得了回報。

Merchant ships traveling through the region on both routes have faced danger before. This Saudi owned oil tanker was hijacked far off the coast of Kenya by pirates in 2008.

在這艘沙特籍油輪於 2008 年在肯亞海岸附近被海盜劫持之前，這兩條航線上途經該地區的商船都曾面臨過危險。

It came amid a spate of other attacks by Somali pirates, complicating Red Sea shipping lanes and forcing the industry to bolster defenses.

這起事件發生時，索馬里海盜還發動了其他一系列襲擊，使紅海航道變得更加複雜，迫使該行業加強防禦。

Vessels constructed barbed wire, fencing, dispersed water cannons and installed high pitched acoustic devices.

船隻建造了鐵絲網、柵欄、水炮，並安裝了高音聲波裝置。

Others even worked with floating arsenals where weaponry could be picked up on routes.

還有一些人甚至與浮動軍火庫合作，在航線上領取武器裝備。

But those defenses will be largely useless against the attacks being launched by the Houthis.

但面對胡塞武裝發起的攻擊，這些防禦措施基本無濟於事。

It's the first time that merchant vessels have been targeted by anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to US officials.

這是商船首次成為反艦彈道導彈的目標。

Some are taking precautions to try and reduce the danger of some, for example, turning off their AI signals.

據我們的官員說，有些人正在採取預防措施，試圖減少一些危險，例如，關閉他們的 A 信號是船上使用的跟蹤器，以便在航行過程中可以看到對方。

Those have trackers used on vessels to be visible to each other during navigation by turning them off.

Vessels are trying to remain undetected.

船隻正試圖不被發現。

Others have changed their destination signal to a message saying armed guards on board.

還有一些公司將目的地信號改為船上有武裝警衛的資訊，航運公司也在向安全分析師尋求應對另一種新威脅無人機襲擊的建議。

Shipping companies are also turning to security analysts for advice on dealing with another new threat: drone attacks.

This is a revolution in the nature of war that played out in Ukraine and is now at play in the Red Sea as well.

這是一場戰爭性質的革命，它曾在烏克蘭上演，如今也在紅海上演。

The one possible measure is learning how to spot drones as they're in coming early so that a ship could then, you know, sail to a to a safe location.

一種可能的措施是學習如何在無人機提前到來時發現它們，這樣船隻就可以駛向安全地點。

But for now, one of the safest ways for vessels to travel through the waterway is to lean on help from allied militaries.

但就目前而言，船隻通過該水道最安全的方式之一是依靠盟國軍隊的幫助。

The US-led multinational task force moved to the area in December to escort vessels and shoot down projectiles.

美國上司的多國特遣部隊於 12 月開赴該地區，為船隻護航並擊落射彈。

However, attacks continued.

然而，襲擊仍在繼續。

This footage released by the Israeli military is said to show a Houthi target flying over the Red Sea.

據說，以色列軍方公佈的這段錄像顯示，胡塞武裝的一個目標飛越了紅海。

US officials said among the challenges to striking Houthi targets is that many of their weapons systems are mobile.

官員們說，打擊胡塞武裝目標的挑戰之一是他們的許多武器系統都是移動的。

That's leading to fears of widespread disruption to trade flows that could worsen inflation by boosting prices for goods and energy.

這導致人們擔心貿易流動會受到廣泛干擾，從而推高商品和能源價格，加劇通貨膨脹。

Ultimately, if it continues, it will lead to higher prices.

如果這種情況繼續下去，最終將導致價格上漲。

The ships that for example, move containers but they've been tied up for longer on these voyages.

例如，運送貨櫃的船隻在這些航程中停靠的時間更長。

So the shipping companies are already charging more per day to charter out their boats to move containers and that will feed through to consumers that there's no way that this gets absorbed by the supply chain.

是以，航運公司已經開始提高租船運輸貨櫃的日租金，而這也會影響到消費者，因為供應鏈根本無法消化這些費用。

The US is looking at different options to try and end the trouble in the waterway.

美國正在研究不同的方案，試圖結束水道上的麻煩，其中之一就是採取更有力的軍事應對措施，從根本上摧毀胡塞武裝的軍事能力。

As one is a more forceful military response measures that could take out the Houthis military capabilities at their root.

Another is diplomacy.

另一個是外交。

And I, you know, a lot of people say that ultimately the best way to stop this becoming a crisis is to pursue diplomacy.

你知道，很多人都說，最終阻止危機惡化的最好辦法是開展外交。

Saudi Arabia, a key US partner in the Middle East, for example, is in talks with the Houthis about ending the civil war in Yemen, halting attacks in the Red Sea,

例如，美國在中東地區的重要合作伙伴沙特阿拉伯正在與胡塞武裝談判結束葉門內戰，停止在紅海的襲擊。

and in turn, helping the world continue with global trade could be another item on the agenda during those negotiations.

反過來，幫助世界繼續開展全球貿易也可能是這些談判的另一個議程項目。