Maersk pauses Red Sea shipping after Houthi rebel attacks in region
Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The Maersk shipping line is suspending all commercial traffic through the Red Sea after a attacks in the region by Yemen-based Houthi rebels.
The Danish company confirmed the news in a statement to the BBC Friday.
"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers," Maersk said in the statement.
The news is in response to a ballistic missile that splashed down in an international shipping lane near Yemen Thursday. U.S. military forces confirmed Friday it was fired from an area of that country controlled by Houthi rebels.
The missile landed in a shipping lane north of the Bab-el-Mandeb, U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted on social media. The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait dividing Yemen from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, connected to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Houthi rebels claimed a drone inflicted damage on a commercial vessel, which was denied by American officials.
"There were no injuries or damage. Following the missile launch, the M/V Maersk Gibraltar was hailed by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks. The M/V Maersk Gibraltar is a Hong Kong-flagged cargo container vessel," Central Command said in the statement.
"While this incident did not involve U.S. Forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation. These attacks continue to threaten international maritime security."
The M/V Maersk Gibralter is a container ship registered in Hong Kong.
Thursday's incident is the latest escalation by Houthi rebels targeting commercial shipping.
Last Friday, the Biden administration blacklisted four people and nine companies accused of funding the Iran-backed Yemen-based Islamist political and military organization.
American officials at the time said the entities have funneled millions of dollars to the rebel group.
The complex network also included Iranian elements.
"While the Houthis are pulling the trigger, so to speak, they're being handed the gun by Iran," U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a news conference Friday during a visit to Israel.
"The United States is working with the international community, with partners from the region and from all over the world to deal with this threat."
Sullivan called the Houthis a "threat to freedom of navigation to commercial shipping."
Earlier in the week, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason shot down a Houthi drone while escorting a Norwegian chemical tanker in the southern Red Sea.
Founded in 1904, Maersk is one of the largest shipping and logistics companies in the world with more than 100,000 employees stationed across over 130 countries. It has the largest shipping fleet by capacity in the world.
