Houthi rebel attacks on ships using the Red Sea trade route off the coast of Yemen, are bad for global business and consumers everywhere but have also exposed a chronic shortage of vessels in the supply chain.

That’s according to Jan Hoffman, chief of the trade logistics branch at the UN trade and development body UNCTAD.

He’s been talking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson about the impact of the action taken by the Houthis in protest at Israel’s continuing offensive in Gaza, the repercussions of protracted attacks on shipping for trade overall, and what the UN can do to help de-escalate the situation.