Maersk Suspends Ship Passage Through Red Sea Channel For 48 Hours
Following Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attack on one of its merchant ships, the shipping giant Maersk has suspended its container ships passage through the Red Sea channel for 48 hours.
It was on Sunday, a Maersk container ship has been hit by a missile in the Red sea while it was passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. According to US Central Command, small boats originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired at the ship before the Houthi-backed militias tried to get aboard. In response to the distress call made by the crew, the US Central Command fired at the Houthis and sank three of the four small boats, while the fourth boat fled.
Prior, the company had suspended operations in the route for 48 hours after an attack occurred on the ships on December 15.
“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,” Maersk said in a recent statement.
The Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou is a 14,000-capacity containership used on Maersk’s AE12-service between Europe and Asia.
The Houthi rebels are targeting ships travelling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, also known as the Gate of Tears, which is a channel 20 miles (32km) wide, with drones and rockets. The Houthis of Yemen has declares that they attack only ships carrying goods to Israel. The attack will not be stopped until Israel stops the genocidal war in Gaza, the group added.
The US has formed a 10-nation coalition force to guard the ships from the Houthi attacks, and it includes Bahrain, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain.
