The world's largest container shipping company avoids the Suez Canal after the attack. The German Shipowners' Association calls for a military alliance to protect the ships.
A US warship in the Red Sea intercepted more than a dozen drones fired from Yemen. The 14 “disposable attack drones” were shot down without any reports of damage to ships or injuries, the US military command for the Middle East (Centcom) reported on Saturday on the online service X, formerly Twitter. The drones were fired from areas in Yemen controlled by Houthi militias, it said.
Several ships have been attacked from there in recent days, prompting container giants MSC, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to withdraw from the area. On Saturday, in addition to MSC, the French shipping company CMA CGM also joined the change. “The situation continues to deteriorate and security concerns are increasing,” the French said in a statement.
The world's largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), announced that it would no longer send ships through the Suez Canal for the time being. This is a response to the attack by one of your freighters. Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked the Liberian-flagged “Palatium III” with a drone in the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea on Friday.
Significant additional costs due to deviations and insurance
MSC said it would route some ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. This extends the travel time of these ships by a few days. The development also means higher war risk insurance premiums for shipowners. This leads to additional costs of several tens of thousands of dollars for a seven-day passage in the Red Sea. MSC said the ship suffered fire damage and needed repairs. The crew were not injured. MSC said it would route some ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. This will extend the travel time of ships booked to transit the Suez Canal by a few days. Before the MSC, container giants Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk had already announced that they wanted to avoid the affected passage.
In London, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the warship HMS Diamond had shot down a suspected attack drone that was targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea. “A Sea Viper missile was fired and successfully destroyed the target,” he wrote in the X. Other attacks on freighters in the region were also reported on Friday, including a German Hapag-Lloyd ship.
In Germany, the German Shipowners' Association (VDR) called for an international military alliance to protect civilian shipping in the Red Sea – with the involvement of the German Bundeswehr. “It would be appropriate if Germany participated accordingly,” said association president Martin Kröger at Bayerischer Rundfunk on Saturday. The US, France and England are already present in the region with military ships, said Kröger. He made the comments after the German Defense Ministry announced it was examining a naval deployment in the region at the request of the United States.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have attacked several ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks. In connection with the Suez Canal, the passage is particularly important for oil trade in order to avoid shipping costs across Africa. The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is one of the world's most important routes for transporting raw materials, especially crude oil and fuel from the Gulf. The rebels, who control much of Yemen, have pledged to continue their attacks until Israel ends its offensive. (APA/Portal/AFP)