Shipping company Maersk announced a 48-hour suspension of vessel passages through a crucial Red Sea strait after an attack by Yemeni rebels on the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged container vessel owned and operated by Denmark. The incident occurred while the ship was en route from Singapore to Port Suez in Egypt, traversing the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Maersk Hangzhou reported being struck by a missile but remained undamaged, continuing its journey north. Subsequently, four ships operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels engaged in an attempt to board the vessel, prompting a response from the US military. Navy helicopters sank three of the rebel-operated ships, while the fourth fled.
In response to the incident, Maersk decided to delay all transits through the area for the next 48 hours to investigate the details and assess the security situation. The Huthis have targeted vessels in the Red Sea shipping lane, citing support for Palestinians in Gaza amid the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
