Dubai: Maersk announced on Sunday (December 31) that Iran-backed Houthi militants attacked a Maersk container ship with missiles and small boats, causing the company to suspend all shipping through the Red Sea for 48 hours.
The crew of the Maersk Hangzhou were safe and there were no signs of fire on board, and the ship was fully maneuverable and continued north to the port of Suez, Maersk said in a statement.
The attack was the latest by Yemen’s Houthi militants, who have targeted ships in the Red Sea to show support for Hamas, the Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza.
The attack disrupted global trade, prompting major shipping companies to bypass the Suez Canal and take a longer, more expensive route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The Red Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal, which handles about 12 percent of global trade and is essential for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe.
The United States launched Operation Prosperity Guardian on December 19, announcing that more than 20 countries have agreed to join efforts to protect ships in Red Sea waters near Yemen.
In response, Maersk announced that it would resume Red Sea navigation on December 24th. But attacks continue, and U.S. allies have proven reluctant to join the coalition, with nearly half not publicly declaring their presence.
Maersk, one of the world’s major cargo shippers, on Sunday transited the Maersk Hangzhou, 55 nautical miles southwest of Al-Hodeidah in Yemen, after it was attacked by a missile at around 17:30 p.m. Japan time. It announced that all shipments would be delayed for 48 hours.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), a US warship shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-held territory in Yemen.
Later, at around 3:30pm Japan time on Sunday, the same ship was attacked by Houthi militants in four small boats. Maersk and Centcom said in a statement that the attackers’ attempt to board the ship was averted by security teams responding to a distress call and counterattacks by helicopters from the aircraft carriers Eisenhower and Gravely.
Centcom said in a statement that the helicopters sank three of the insurgents’ boats, leaving no survivors, but a fourth boat fled the area.
The Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, which can carry 14,000 containers, was departing from Singapore.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday that in a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, he told him that Iran should help stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
In a post on social media site It added: “It threatens innocent lives and the global economy.”