Danish firm halts Red Sea shipping post Houthi strike
Photo: Danish company suspends transportation through Red Sea after Houthi attack (flickr.com)
Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk has decided to halt container shipments through the Red Sea due to attacks by Houthi rebels, reports Reuters.
"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," the company said in a statement.
On Thursday, the company reported that its vessel Maersk Gibraltar was targeted by a missile during a journey to Saudi Arabia.
Specifically, on Friday, Maersk refuted Houthi claims that insurgents had struck the ship en route to Israel. The militants, on their part, asserted conducting an operation against the container ship, allegedly hitting it with a drone. However, they provided no evidence to support their claims.
"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers," it wrote in the statement.
Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea
Today, on December 16, it was reported that a drone targeted the Liberian-flagged ship "Al-Jazeera". The Houthis launched two missiles at another ship, which subsequently requested assistance from a U.S. military vessel.
On the same day, insurgents threatened an attack on the MSC Alanya, navigating north in the southern part of the Red Sea.
Recently, the Houthis also launched a land-based cruise missile at the commercial tanker Strinda, causing a fire and significant damage.
