Shipping company Maersk stops Red Sea route after 'alarming' repeated attacks by Yemen Houthi rebels

Shipping company Maersk, paused operations in the Red Sea following rebel attacks

Shipping company Maersk, has paused operations in the Red Sea after repeated attacks by rebels near Yemen.

Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles as ships travelling through the crucial trade route Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday and Friday, the US military said.

In the latest attack, a missile hit a German owned vessel causing a fire. There were no injuries.

Copenhagen-based Maersk said recent attacks on commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea “are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers.”

“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,” Maersk said in statement Friday.

This covers the narrow waterway which separates Yemen from East Africa and leads north to the Red Sea. It is an extremely busy shipping route because at the northern end of the Red Sea is the Suez canal.

The assaults by the Iran-backed Houthis have been part of their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip.

Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea and launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. 

In recent days, they have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel, though several vessels targeted had no apparent link.

They have used drones and anti-ship missiles to attack vessels and in one case used a helicopter to seize an Israeli-owned ship and its crew.

Maersk said a missile was fired at but missed one of its container ships traveling from Oman to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

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