US helicopter sinks attacker
Major shipping company suspends trips through the Red Sea again
December 31, 2023, 1:11 p.m
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The US military called in to help repel the Houthi militia’s attack on the freighter “Hangzhou” in the Red Sea. Several boats are sunk. But the major shipping company Maersk wants to initially avoid the waterway, which is important for global trade, with its ships.
Due to an attack by Houthi rebels on one of their ships in the Red Sea, the Danish shipping company Maersk is suspending its sailings in the area for 48 hours. As the company announced, its container ship “Hangzhou” was first hit by a missile while passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and then attacked by four Yemeni Houthis boats. They apparently wanted to hijack the container ship.
The container ship flying the Singapore flag appeared to remain undamaged and was able to continue its journey, according to Maersk. U.S. forces in the region said Marine helicopters sank three of the four Houthi boats. The fourth boat escaped. The US Central Command Centcom had previously stated in online networks that a US destroyer had shot down two anti-ship missiles fired from Yemen after US warships wanted to come to the aid of the “Hangzhou”.
Since the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas began in early October, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has fired drones and rockets at Israel several times and attacked ships in the Red Sea. In mid-December, Maersk had temporarily suspended ships from traveling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and Djibouti in Africa. Other shipping companies followed suit, including the German Hapag-Lloyd.
23rd Houthi attack in the Red Sea since November
The missiles associated with the attack on the Hangzhou were launched from an area controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, Centcom said. Saturday’s shooting was the Houthis’ “23rd illegal attack on international shipping” since November 19. The Houthis see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel. In addition to Hamas, this also includes the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The Red Sea is a central trade route through which up to twelve percent of world trade passes. Because of the wave of Houthi attacks on container ships, several shipping companies are now avoiding sailing through the strait near Yemen, which is leading to delays and increased freight costs due to the large detours. In order to protect merchant shipping, the United States announced the formation of an international military coalition to secure shipping in the Red Sea a few days before Christmas.