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Maersk pauses shipping through Red Sea after Houthi boats attack vessel
CNN
Maersk has imposed a 48-hour delay on its vessels moving through the Red Sea, following an attack on one of its merchant ships by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters based in Yemen.
Maersk has imposed a 48-hour delay on its vessels moving through the Red Sea, following an attack on one of its merchant ships by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters based in Yemen. The US military said its helicopters responded to distress calls from the vessel — the Maersk Hangzhou — on Sunday and sank three boats operated by the Houthis, killing those aboard. A fourth boat fled the area, it said. The Danish company said in a statement that all of its crew members are safe, but it needs “time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further.” As a result, it has “decided to delay all transits through the area for the next 48 hours,” Maersk said on Sunday. The weekend attack took place after the Maersk Hangzhou passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, en route from Singapore to Port Suez, the company said. The pause comes just a week after Maersk said that it would resume shipments in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following the establishment of a new US-led military force to safeguard the area.