© Reuters. File photo: CMA CGM Louis Bleriot and a Maersk Line container ship pass through the Suez Canal in Ismailia, Egypt on July 7, 2021. Photo taken on July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Written by Jacob Gronholt Pedersen and Ahmed Al-Imam
COPENHAGEN/DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) – Iranian-backed Houthis attacked a Maersk container ship with missiles and small boats, prompting the company to halt all sailings through the Red Sea for 48 hours, Maersk said on Sunday.
Shipping company Maersk Hangzhou said that the ship's crew was fine and there was no indication of a fire on board the ship, which continued its journey north to the port of Suez.
A Houthi spokesman said the group carried out the attack because the ship's crew refused to respond to warning calls. He added that 10 Houthi naval personnel were “killed and missing” after their boats were attacked by American forces in the Red Sea.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that its helicopters sank three of four boats after responding to distress calls, while the fourth ship fled.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:) declined to say what options were or were not on the table when asked on ABC's “Good Morning America” whether Washington would consider a preemptive strike.
He added: “We have made clear to the Houthis publicly, and made clear privately to our allies and partners in the region, that we take these threats seriously.”
The attack on Maersk Hangzhou is the latest carried out by Houthi militants in Yemen, who have been targeting ships in the Red Sea since November to show their support for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza.
These attacks disrupted global trade, as major shipping companies took the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa instead of passing through the Suez Canal.
The Red Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal, through which about 12% of global trade passes and is vital for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe.
The United States launched Operation Prosperity Sentinel on December 19, saying more than 20 countries had agreed to participate in efforts to protect ships in the Red Sea waters near Yemen.
In response, Maersk said on December 24 that it would resume sailing through the Red Sea. However, attacks continued and US allies proved reluctant to commit to the coalition, with almost half of them not declaring their presence publicly.
Maersk, one of the world's largest cargo shipping companies, said on Sunday that it would delay all transit operations through the region for 48 hours, after the ship Maersk Hangzhou was subjected to a missile attack at around 1730 GMT on Saturday, 55 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen. . .
US Central Command said that a US warship shot down two more anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the ship.
Efforts to repel the four boats around 0330 GMT Sunday as the attackers sought to board the ship involved the ship's security team as well as helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, Maersk and US Central Command said.
The Maersk Hangzhou ship, which flies the Singapore flag and has the capacity to carry 14,000 containers, was on its way from Singapore.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday that he informed Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in a phone call that Iran must help stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
“I have made clear that Iran bears responsibility for preventing these attacks, given its long-term support for the Houthis,” Cameron said in a post on the social networking site X, adding that the attacks “threaten the lives of innocent people and the global economy.”
The BIMCO Shipping Association condemned the attacks and thanked the countries involved in repelling them.
“We are grateful for the efforts made by the United States, France and the United Kingdom so far and hope that more countries will support the coalition with maritime assets or other influential means, including diplomatic pressure on the Houthis and their sponsors,” said Jacob Larsen, head of maritime safety and surveillance at BIMCO. Security told Reuters.
