Howden has started offering war risk cargo insurance to cover vessels sailing through the Red Sea against drone and missile attacks as geopolitical tensions escalate in the region, the UK-based insurance broker told Reuters on Tuesday. The cost of insuring a seven-day Red Sea voyage has risen by hundreds of thousands of dollars since Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis began attacking shipping in the area in November in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Howden said the new product was the "first dedicated insurance coverage of its kind to protect cargo vessels within an active conflict zone, which encompasses the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean".