shipowners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd suspend crossings through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, after a new Houthi attack

The Danish shipping giant Maersk and the German shipowner Hapag-Lloyd announced that they had ordered their ships, Friday, December 15, to no longer pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, a strategic strait for international trade targeted by Houthi attacks. “Following the incident against Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and a further attack on a container ship today, we have asked all Maersk vessels in the region that must pass through the Bab al-Strait Mandab to interrupt their journey until further notice”, states a press release from the Danish carrier addressed to AFP. For its part, “Hapag-Lloyd is stopping all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday. We will then decide for the subsequent period”declared the group in a press release also sent to AFP.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, is strategic for maritime transport because 40% of international trade passes through this passage. The Houthis, close to Iran, had warned that they would target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen, with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They claimed Friday to have carried out “a military operation” against two container ships of the Swiss shipowner MSC after claiming responsibility for an attack on the Maersk container ship on Thursday.

Asked about the consequences of these attacks in the Red Sea, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhane said he “concerned by the risk of escalation” in the region, during a press conference in Oslo. “Our region is very complex and we do not need more conflicts to break out. So we hope that we can avoid any further escalation in our region”he added.