Maersk suspends Red Sea container traffic due to Yemen threats
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Maersk's decision comes in response to an attack by the Yemeni Armed Forces on its container ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday.
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The container ship Maersk Murcia sits moored in the port of Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 24, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images)
The world's second-largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, announced, on Friday, the suspension of all container traffic through the Red Sea until further notice. This decision comes in response to an attack by the Yemeni Armed Forces on its container ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday.
Simultaneously, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that their Naval forces carried out a military operation against the Maersk Gibraltar cargo ship, which was en route to the Israeli occupation entity.
In a statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirmed that the ship was targeted with a drone, adding that a direct hit was confirmed after the Maersk Gibraltar's crew refused to respond to warning calls from the Yemeni Naval Forces. The company claimed that the ship was not impacted by the attack.
"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," a company's spokesperson was quoted as saying by Sky News.
It is worth noting that Maersk announced last week that it will start imposing a new risk surcharge on container shipments heading to "Israel" starting next year, citing the need to cover rising insurance premiums due to the unstable security situation.
Hapag-Lloyd mulling suspension
Later in the day, the German international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd issued a comparable statement, saying it would stop all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday when it would reassess the situation.
"Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to secure the safety of our crews," the spokesperson said, declining to provide additional comments.
The decision was reportedly prompted by an incident in which a projectile was launched at the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Al Jasrah, owned by Hapag-Lloyd. The attack, allegedly launched from parts of Yemen controlled by Ansar Allah, occurred 50 nautical miles north of the port of Mocha, resulting in a fire on the deck and one container falling overboard.
However, while the Yemeni Armed Forces claimed responsibility for the attack on the Maersk, no such confirmation was made regarding the Hapag-Lloyd vessel, knowing that whenever the Yemeni forces conduct any operation, they openly and explicitly claim responsibility for it via official statements and televised appearances by the spokesperson. This has been the case since the beginning of their operations in support of the Palestinian people.
The announcements will send a shockwave through the rest of the container market as shipping leaders mull their next steps after near-daily attacks this week.
Yemeni military announces attacks on 2 ships heading to Israeli ports
Earlier today, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree publicly announced that the Yemeni Naval Forces targeted the MSC Alanya and the MSC PALATIUM III with anti-ship missiles, dealing direct hits to the two vessels, having refused to heed Yemeni warnings in support of the oppressed Palestinian people, who are currently being subjected to massacres, destruction, and a siege in the Gaza Strip, in implementation of the directives of Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and in response to the calls of the Yemeni people.
The Brigadier General emphasized that all vessels, heading to the Israeli occupation's ports, will continue to be targeted, until "Israel" lifts its blockade on Gaza and allows for the passage of necessities into the Strip, including food and medical supplies.
بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن استهداف سفينتي الحاويات( MSC Alanya إم إس سي ألانيا "و" MSC PALATIUM III إم إس سي بالاتيوم3) المتجهتين إلى الكيان الإسرائيلي، لرفض طاقميهما الاستجابة لنداءات القوات البحرية اليمنية. pic.twitter.com/KUiOCJjgoQ
— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) December 15, 2023
This is happening as the matter got worse for the Israeli occupation after the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced a new equation following a US veto on a ceasefire in Gaza at the UNSC meeting, which added ships heading to "Israel", regardless of their nationality, to the ban, and expanding its scope to the Arabian Sea, as well the Red Sea.
This comes alongside other attacks claimed by Yemen against Israeli targets, including the launch of long-range cruise missiles and drones on several occasions, as well as ballistic missiles at "Eilat" located in the southernmost region of occupied Palestine.
Read next: Israeli ports on alert: Schedules pulled amid Yemeni operations
