Danish container shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has ordered all of the company’s ships heading to the southern entrance of the Red Sea to halt their voyages following an attack on one of its ships and growing risks to merchant shipping in the area raised by the Houthis. militants.

“Following the Maersk Gibraltar incident yesterday and another attack on a container ship today, we have ordered all Maersk vessels in the area passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to suspend their voyages until further notice,” a Maersk spokesperson said. company in a statement compiled by Bloomberg.

The Bab el Mandab is a narrow strip of water that connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and eventually to Egypt’s Suez Canal further north. In response to the war in the Gaza Strip, Houthi militants have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, especially ships they say have ties to Israel.

The attacks appear to have increased in recent days, although the ships’ links to Israel appear less direct, suggesting the risks are increasing. At least three container ships have been attacked near Yemen in recent days.

“We are deeply concerned about the security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” said Maersk, which sees recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area as alarming and posing a significant threat to human safety. sea

“We are committed to ensuring the stability of our customers’ supply chains in the best possible way, we are working closely with all our logistics teams and taking measures to minimize the impact on customers,” the company explained.

In this sense, this morning the Danish company, through its official social media account, indicated a quick solution that will bring the situation under control.