In light of global shipping companies suffering from the consequences of attacks launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea, the Danish shipping company Maersk announced on Sunday the postponement of all transit operations from this sea for 48 hours. This came the day after the Houthis, allied with Iran, launched an attack on a container ship belonging to the company when the ship was 55 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The Houthis have been launching naval attacks on cargo ships since last November, considering this to be support for the Hamas movement, which started a war with Israel since last October 7.
Published on: 12/31/2023 – 23:54
4 minutes
With continuation Houthi attacks On cargo ships in the Red Sea, the Danish shipping company Maersk announced on Sunday that it had decided to stop all its flights through this sea for 48 hours. On Saturday, the Houthis, allied with Iran, launched an attack on one of the company’s ships while it was located 55 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The ongoing Houthi attacks since last November have forced many international shipping companies to change the sailing route of their ships. The attacks caused material losses to companies and affected shipping schedules.
The company, which is one of the largest cargo shipping companies in the world, said it would postpone all transit operations, after the Maersk Hangzhou ship was attacked by a missile at around 17:30 GMT on Saturday.
Maersk explained that the crew is fine and there is no indication of a fire on board the ship, which continued its journey north to the port of Suez in Egypt.
For his part, a Houthi spokesman revealed that the group carried out the attack because the ship’s crew refused to respond to warning calls.
The spokesman added that American forces launched an attack on Houthi boats in the Red Sea, which “led to the martyrdom and loss of ten members of the naval forces.”
The US Central Command said that its helicopters sank three out of four boats after receiving distress calls, while the fourth boat fled away from the area.
This attack on the Maersk Hangzhou ship is the latest carried out by the Houthis, who are targeting ships in the Red Sea to show their support for the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The Red Sea is the gateway for ships that use the Suez Canal, through which about 12 percent of global trade passes and is an important route for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe.
The United States launched a military operation called “Prosperity Guardian” on December 19, 2023, and said that more than 20 countries had agreed to join efforts to protect ships in the Red Sea waters near Yemen.
In response, Maersk said on December 24 that it would resume sailing in the Red Sea. But the attacks continued, highlighting the reluctance of US allies to commit to the coalition, as nearly half of them did not explicitly announce their participation.
US Central Command reported that a US warship shot down two other anti-ship ballistic missiles that were fired at the ship.
The Danish company and the US Central Command stated that the efforts made to repel the attack by the four boats at approximately 03:30 GMT Sunday involved the ship’s security team, in addition to helicopters launched from the aircraft carriers Eisenhower and Gravely, after the perpetrators of the attack attempted to board the ship.
The ship, which flies the Singapore flag and can carry 14,000 containers, departed from Singapore.
The Houthi attacks on cargo ships disrupted global trade, as major shipping companies took the longer and more expensive route around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope route instead of passing through the Suez Canal.
The BIMCO Shipping Organization condemned the attacks and thanked the countries that participated in repelling them.
Jacob Larsen, head of the Safety and Security Department at BIMCO, said in statements to Reuters, “We are grateful for the efforts of the United States, France and Britain so far and we hope that more countries will support the coalition with naval assets or other effective means, including diplomatic pressure on the Houthis and their sponsors.”
France 24/Reuters
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2023-12-31 22:54:36
