The Chinese Cosco Shipping Lines, the world's fourth largest transporter of containers, said on Sunday it would no longer be sailing to Israeli ports in order to avoid attack from the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, Ynet reported.
Cosco is the first international company to halt all business with Israel since the attacks on cargo vessels by the Iran-backed rebels began.
Zim, the operational partner for Cosco's trade routes, said the decision came as a surprise. By suspending shipping to Israel, Cosco is seen as a blow to Zim's cooperation with the Chinese company. The new port in Haifa, built and run by a Chinese company, is also expected to suffer financially, according to Ynet.
Cosco is the largest shipping company in Asia, and it expanded to Europe when it purchased the Greek port of Piraeus in 2016. Its activity has been divided into four main sectors: container shipping, container terminal management, shipyards and tankers carrying gas and oil.
The Houthis have upped their attacks in the region since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Yahya Sare'e, the military spokesman for the Houthi terrorist organization, claimed on Wednesday that the group attacked a ship that refused the Houthis' orders to stop and was on its way to Israel.
Days earlier, it was revealed that US helicopters sank three Houthi boats in the Red Sea. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the container ship Maersk Hangzhou issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours reporting being under attack by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats.
22 nations recently agreed to participate in a US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks.
Last week, a group of 13 countries, led by the United States, warned the Houthi rebels of unspecified consequences unless they halt their attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
Cosco joins Denmark's Maersk and German rival Hapag-Lloyd, who announced last week their container ships would continue to avoid the Red Sea route that gives access to the Suez Canal, in the wake of the Houthi attacks.