Maersk suspends vessels' passage through Red Sea strait
The Danish company is one of the world's largest shipping and logistics firms
Helsinki: Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk will pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice and send them on a detour around Africa, a spokesperson for the company told Reuters on Friday.
"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," the company said in a statement.
Maersk said the company was deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers," it wrote in the statement.
The Yemens Houthi rebel group had claimed they carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone. However, Maersk denied the claim.