Maersk suspends vessels’ passage in Red Sea strait for 48 hours after attack on Maersk Hangzhou

COPENHAGEN : 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.

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It appeared to be undamaged in that attack and “was able to continue its transit north”, said Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies.

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It was then attacked by four ships operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which “engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel”, the Danish shipping company said.

The US military said navy helicopters sank three of the ships while the fourth fled.

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“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.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.