Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, on Sunday (Dec 31) said that it was suspending the passage of its vessels through a significant Red Sea strait for 48 hours after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked one of its merchant ships.
The Maersk Hangzhou container ship, which was heading towards Port Suez in Egypt from Singapore, reported being hit by a missile while transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
It appeared to sustain no damage in the attack and “was able to continue its transit north”, said Maersk.
It was then attacked by four Houthi ships attempting to board it, which “engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel”, the company said in a statement.
“In light of the incident — and to allow time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further — it has been decided to delay all transits through the area for the next 48 hours,” said a Maersk statement.
US strikes on Huthis in Red Sea killed 10 rebels, say Yemen port sources
At least 10 Houthi rebels were killed and two others were injured on Sunday (Dec 31) when US forces struck their boats in the southern Red Sea, news agency AFP reported citing sources at Yemen’s Hodeida port.
The United States Navy helicopters sank three vessels that were operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the army said in a statement on Sunday (Dec 31).
After the Houthis fired on the US helicopters, they “returned fire in self-defence”, sinking three of four small boats that had come within 20 meters of the ship, and killing the crews, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
“The fourth boat fled the area,” it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
