Shipping giant Maersk pauses operations through Red Sea again after Houthi attack

by Brad Dress - 01/02/24 11:34 AM ET

A 20mm Phalanx CIWS weapons defense cannon is mounted on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely on March 14, 2023. The U.S. military said Sunday Dec. 31, 2023 it shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired toward a container ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. A contract-embarked security team on the ship returned fire, the central command said. U.S. helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and GRAVELY responded to the distress call and while issuing verbal warnings to the attackers, the small boat crews opened fire on the helicopters using small arms, the statement said. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

Danish shipping giant Maersk is pausing its operations through the Red Sea again following a Sunday attack on one of its ships from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group.

Maersk said in a Tuesday advisory that it would pause Red Sea transits until further notice, continuing to redirect ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope.

The decision comes after one of the company’s vessels, the Maersk Hangzhou, was targeted by the Houthi militants in attack boats over the weekend.

The U.S., which is patrolling the Red Sea to protect commercial boats in the region, responded to a distress call and sunk three Houthi boats, killing 10, according to Houthi officials.

Maersk said an investigation into the incident was underway, and it is constantly monitoring the situation.

The company in December paused transits through the Red Sea after the Houthi attacks that began in the late fall started ramping up.

Maersk joined several of the world’s leading shipping and oil-producing companies, including BP, in stopping transits through the corridor, a major shortcut for trade connecting Europe and Asia.

The squeeze on shipping transit is expected to impact the global economy, already raising prices for shipping companies because rerouting the ships around Africa adds days to travel time.

Maersk and French company CMA CGM Group slowly began increasing operations again in late December before the latest Houthi attack. It’s not clear what action CMA CGM Group may take in response to the attack.

The U.S. last month created a new maritime task force under an existing framework to deter the Houthis, but the rebel group has vowed to continue the attacks.

The Houthis say they are targeting Israel-based ships or ships headed to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people as Israel fights Hamas in Gaza.