CMEC Director talks to maritime expert Dr Ian Ralby about the critical but largely overlooked role played by the sea in all of our lives and in the conflicts in the Middle East - the strategy behind the Houthis strikes on tankers in the Red Sea, how they have jeopardised Egypt's frail economy and the trade routes on which we all rely; how Russia's frantic search for a warn sea port after losing its base in Syria has helped fuel the terrible Sudan war.