Maersk Stops Red Sea Traffic for ‘Foreseeable Future’ as Houthi Attacks Persist

Ryan Morgan
By Ryan Morgan
January 5, 2024Middle East
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Maersk Stops Red Sea Traffic for ‘Foreseeable Future’ as Houthi Attacks Persist
Containers on the Maersk's container ship Maersk Gibraltar at the APM Terminals in the port of Algeciras, Spain, on Jan. 19, 2023. (Jon Nazca/Reuters)

The Denmark-based global shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk has elected to pause all traffic through the Red Sea and adjoining Gulf of Aden for the “foreseeable future” amid continuing concerns about attacks on commercial vessels transiting the shipping lane.

“Further to A.P. Moller-Maersk’s decision on 2 January to pause the transit of our vessels through the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden until further notice, we have just updated customers about our decision for Maersk vessels due to transit the area to be diverted south of Africa for the foreseeable future,” a spokesperson for the shipping company said in an emailed statement to NTD News on Friday.

The decision comes amid a string of attacks on commercial vessels in recent weeks by the Yemen-based Houthi rebel forces. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are a Zaydi Shiite movement that has intermittently fought with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2004. The conflict expanded after the Houthis took over the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in September 2014, bringing on a civil war that has seen Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states intervene on behalf of the Yemeni government.

More recently, the Houthis have turned their attention beyond Yemen to international shipping lanes.

Maersk has vacillated back and forth as to whether or not to continue sending ships through the narrow waterway, which connects to the Suez Canal and serves as a key shipping lane connecting Europe to Asia and East Africa.

The Danish shipping company initially paused its Red Sea shipments in mid-December, after a missile narrowly missed one of its vessels, Maersk Gibraltar. Amid the ongoing string of attacks, the United States launched a new international maritime security effort dubbed “Operation Prosperity Guardian” and by Dec. 24, Maersk announced it had begun preparing to resume its Red Sea shipments.

Despite the U.S.-led Red Sea maritime security operation, Houthi attacks targeting commercial shipments have continued.

On Dec. 31, a group of armed Houthi attack boats swarmed around another Maersk ship, Maersk Hangzhou. A U.S. helicopter responded to the ship’s distress call and, after the Houthi boats fired at the aircraft, the U.S. side opened fire and sank three boats, killing 10 Houthi gunmen. That same day, Maersk announced it would conduct a two-day pause on shipments through the Red Sea.

According to Maersk’s latest communications, the shipping company is extending its pause on Red Sea traffic indefinitely. The company’s new shipping route will take vessels the long way around the African continent, past the Cape of Good Hope.

Other major international shipping companies like Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Company, and CMA CGM have also paused Red Sea traffic.

Middle East Tensions Grow

The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea began in the days and weeks following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli military’s ongoing retaliatory military campaign throughout the Gaza Strip.

The Israel–Hamas conflict poses a risk of escalating into a wider regional conflict. There had already been clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents in the West Bank throughout 2023, and that violence has escalated in the weeks since the start of the fighting in and around the Gaza Strip.

Across their international borders, Israeli forces have already exchanged fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli forces also conducted a drone strike this week on the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri.

While the Yemeni civil war has died down in recent months with efforts at a ceasefire in Yemen, the Houthi movement has shifted its focus beyond Yemen, toward the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict, launching attacks to undermine the Israeli side. The Houthis have specifically threatened to target commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they believe are connected to Israel.

The Biden administration issued a joint statement on Wednesday, along with counterparts from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the UK, threatening the Houthis with consequences if their attacks on commercial shipping continue. The day after this warning, the U.S. Navy assessed the Houthis had launched an explosive-laden unmanned surface vehicle (USV) from Yemen, which detonated within a couple of miles of merchant ships operating in the waterway.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties and no ships were hit, but the introduction of a one-way attack USV is of concern,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said at a Thursday press briefing discussing the incident.

The United States has long suspected Iran of arming and funding the Houthi rebels as a proxy force to advance Iranian interests in the Middle East. The Iranian side has cheered the Houthi attacks but has denied arming the group or helping it plan attacks.

Following the Dec. 31 exchange of fire between the U.S. helicopter and the Houthi attack boats, the Iranian navy announced it had deployed its own warship to the Red Sea.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have also come under attack in recent weeks. The U.S. side has attributed these attacks to Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary factions that are active throughout both countries.

On Thursday, the United States conducted a drone strike killing Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari (also known as Abu Taqwa), a leader of one Iraqi militia faction known as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HAN). Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said HAN is an Iranian proxy group and said Mr. Al-Jawari “was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.” Brig. Gen. Ryder provided few specifics about the threat Mr. Al-Jawari posed during a Thursday press conference addressing the strike.

The U.S. strike prompted criticism within the Iraqi government, with some Iraqi officials asserting that the strike was unprovoked. Iraqi officials also said the strike undermines their country’s sovereignty and their agreement to allow U.S. forces to operate within the country.