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Several major global shipping companies have announced they will suspend sailings through the Red Sea following a spate of attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement, an Iran-aligned group.
AP Møller-Mærsk, or Maersk, which operates the world's second-largest container shipping fleet, said on Friday that it had ordered all ships scheduled to pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait to “suspend their journey until further notice.”
The Bab al-Mandab Strait is a strategically important sea route that runs past Yemen and through which much of the world's oil is shipped. The strait is an important connection to the Suez Canal.
Copenhagen-based Maersk said recent attacks on merchant ships in the southern Red Sea were “alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety of seafarers.”
Giant gantry cranes and unloading cargo from a Maersk ship in Israel. Yemen's Houthi movement has carried out more than 10 attacks on ships in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began. (Planet One Images/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Maersk was joined on Saturday by Switzerland-based MSC and French shipping group CMA CGM, which also ceased operations.
“The situation continues to deteriorate and concerns about safety are increasing,” CMA CGM said in a statement.
The German container shipping company Hapag Lloyd had announced that it could do the same.
Meanwhile, Trafigura, one of the world's largest commodities traders, said it was taking “extra precautionary measures” on its own and chartered vessels, according to the Financial Times.
The Liberian-flagged MSC Palatium III was attacked by a drone on Friday in the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. No injuries were reported, but the ship suffered some fire damage and was decommissioned, MSC said in a statement.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait is a strategically important sea route that runs past Yemen and through which much of the world's oil is shipped. The strait is an important connection to the Suez Canal. (Google Maps)
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Another Liberian-flagged ship, Hapag Lloyd's Al Jasrah, was hit by a missile, the US military said.
Yemen's Houthi movement has carried out more than 10 attacks on ships in the region since the Israel-Hamas war broke out and has said it attacks all ships bound for Israel, regardless of nationality, as part of its support for Hamas. will target. They have warned international shipping companies against doing business with Israeli ports.
“Yemeni forces confirm that they will continue to prevent all ships bound for Israeli ports from sailing in the (Red Sea) until they bring in the food and medicine our steadfast brothers in Gaza need,” a Houthi said. Military spokesman issued a statement claiming responsibility for Friday's attacks.
A Maersk container ship heads toward the Red Sea after transiting the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt. Yemen's Houthi movement has carried out more than 10 attacks on ships in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began. (Kristian Helgesen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The group has attacked and seized several Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and has also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel.
On December 3, three merchant ships were attacked in the Red Sea, prompting the US warship USS Carney to shoot down several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were approaching them.
According to a report by Israeli publication N12News, the news that the shipping companies are suspending their trips comes about a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told President Biden that his country would take military action against the Houthi movement in Yemen if the United States does not do this.
Portal and the Associated Press contributed to this report.