Two shipping companies announced on Friday that they will be halting their operations in the Red Sea in the wake of the attacks by Houthi rebels.
Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, announced it would be pausing 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.
"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.
German transport company Hapag-Lloyd followed suit, saying it was suspending Red Sea container ship traffic until December 18, after one of its vessels was attacked by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
"Hapag-Lloyd is interrupting all container ship traffic across the Red Sea until Monday," the company said in a statement sent to AFP.
Maersk’s decision came one day after the Houthis claimed they carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone, but did not provide evidence for the claim.
Maersk confirmed its ship Maersk Gibraltar was targeted by a missile while travelling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but said the vessel was not hit and that the crew was safe.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have upped their attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
On Saturday, the Houthi rebels threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
Two days later, the Houthis launched a land-based cruise missile towards a Norwegian commercial tanker vessel.
The attack on the motor transport STRINDA took place about 60 nautical miles north of Bab al-Mandab Strait, US officials said, adding that US Navy destroyer Mason was on scene and rendering aid.
A senior Houthi official then warned cargo ships in the Red Sea to avoid traveling toward “occupied Palestinian territories”.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)