Container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world's second largest firm in the specialty, has ordered all ships heading to the southern entrance to the Red Sea to stop their journey following the attack on one of its vessels and the increasing risks to the merchant fleet. in the area, in the face of the threat from Yemen's Houthi militias.
"Following the near miss involving the Maersk Gibraltar yesterday - on Thursday - and yet another attack on a container ship today, we have ordered all Maersk vessels in the area destined to pass through the Bab el Mandeb Strait to stop their travel until further notice," Maersk said in a statement.
The Houthis have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, especially vessels they say are linked to Israel, in response to the war in Gaza. Bab el Mandeb is a narrow strip of water that links the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Suez Canal further north.
The Houthis claimed today, Friday, to have carried out “a military operation against two container ships, the MSC Alanya and the MSC Palatium III, which were heading towards the Israeli entity after their crews refused to respond to calls from naval forces. Yemenis – which is the way the Houthis present themselves in their attacks at sea – as well as warning messages.” This was stated by his military spokesman, Yehya Sari, during a demonstration in support of the Palestinians organized in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which the Houthis have controlled since 2014.
In reality, there were three ships attacked. The freighter Al Jasrah, operated by Hapag-Lloyd AG, Germany's largest container carrier, was hit by a missile, causing a fire to break out on board, although no injuries were reported. A second projectile intended for this same ship hit the MSC Palatium III. This third attack was later claimed by the Houthis, who claim to have prevented several ships from arriving at Israeli ports in the last two days.
Spokesman Yehya Sarea said the Houthis will continue to “prevent all ships bound for Israeli ports from sailing through the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea until our brothers in the Gaza Strip receive the food and medicine they need.” Likewise, he assured “all ships heading to all ports in the world, except Israeli ones, that they will not suffer any damage and that they must keep the identification device open.”
However, two of the three new ships attacked were not heading, at least in principle, to Israeli ports but to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to the Marine Traffic portal, while the Al Jasrah took precisely the opposite route through the Red Sea, since which set sail from the Greek port of Piraeus to head to Singapore. Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd has offices in Israel and, according to its most recent quarterly report, two of its largest shareholders are Qatar Holding Germany GmbH and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. "Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to ensure the safety of our crews," a statement from the firm said.
Harassment of merchant ships has increased in recent days and ships' connections with Israel appear to be less direct. That suggests the risks are widening. Another three container ships were attacked since last Monday.
"We are deeply concerned about the security situation in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden," Maersk said. "Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and represent a significant threat to the safety of seafarers."
The notice did not say what would happen next to its fleet. The company deals with the largest retailers in the world. At the same time, he said his number one priority is keeping his crews safe.
“We are committed to ensuring the stability of our customers' supply chains as best as possible, we are working closely with all our logistics teams and are taking measures to minimize the impact on customers. "
