2023-12-31 12:32:27
While the American army has just announced that it has sunk three Houthi ships after the attack on a cargo ship, Maersk prefers to play it safe for its boats.
The situation is still tense in the Red Sea. There, since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships using this vital sea lane, with strikes they say are intended to support Palestinians in Gaza. Result: several maritime transport companies had already decided to suspend connections on this transit route which still carries up to 12% of world trade.
Once again this Sunday, Maersk – the Danish maritime transport giant – announced that it would suspend the transit of its fleet through a strategic strait in the Red Sea for 48 hours, after the attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels against one of its ships. The container ship Maersk Hangzhou reported being hit by a missile as it passed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and then being attacked by four Houthi rebel ships trying to board.
Read alsoIn the Red Sea, the United States is preparing for a military escalation against the Houthis
The increase in these attacks over nearly three months prompted the United States to set up, at the beginning of the month, a multinational naval force responsible for protecting ships in the Red Sea. It was in this context that US Navy helicopters sank three boats of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the army announced today.
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