Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the second largest in the world, has paused all Red Sea shipments after Houthis attacked one ship.
The company told AFP: “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 move could cause major problems in the supply chain:
While it’s unclear how long-lasting the pause will be, such a step from a company of Maersk’s scale — it has a fleet of over 300 ships and ranks No. 2 in the world — underscores how serious and potentially economically damaging the attacks could be.About 12% of global seaborne trade passes through Egypt’s Suez Canal to the north, almost all of it also traversing Bab al-Mandab.—Disruptions in the area can snarl supply chains and world trade. Back in 2021, the grounding of the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week, throwing ships off schedule for months and tightening the available of cargo space. That accident was estimated to have cut capacity by 20% to 30% for several weeks.“We are deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Maersk said in its statement Friday. “The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers.”
Iran backs the Houthi terrorist group, which is based in Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the terrorists attacked Maersk’s ship because it didn’t “respond to warnings from ‘Yemeni naval forces.'”
Houthis have ramped up Red Sea attacks since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7. The militants have attempted to attack U.S. ships many times.
Now, it seems that it doesn’t matter if the ships are military and headed to Israel. Houthis have attacked three container ships “in the past day or so.”
Houthis hit “three commercial ships” on Sunday. A U.S. warship destroyed three drones headed its way, claiming two came from the terrorist group:
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, detected a ballistic missile fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier Unity Explorer. The missile hit near the ship, the U.S. said. Shortly afterward, the Carney shot down a drone headed its way, although it’s not clear if the destroyer was the target, Central Command said.About 30 minutes later, the Unity Explorer was hit by a missile. While responding to its distress call, the Carney shot down another incoming drone. Central Command said the Unity Explorer sustained minor damage from the missile.Two other commercial ships, the Panamanian-flagged bulk carriers Number 9 and Sophie II, were both struck by missiles. The Number 9 reported some damage but no casualties, and the Sophie II reported no significant damage, Central Command said.While sailing to assist the Sophie II around 4:30 p.m. local time (1330 GMT), the Carney shot down another drone heading in its direction. The drones did no damage.
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