Maersk suspends shipping in the red sea route after its ship was hit by Houthi rebels

The Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk said it would suspend shipping temporarily through the Red Sea from New year again after the two attacks on its freighter Hangzhou came under missile attack from the Houthi rebels.Maersk was the first shipping liner to suspend operations in red sea route but changed its mind last week and resumed operations

In light of the (most recent) incident — ​​and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further — it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours,” Maersk was quoted as saying by the Danish public broadcaster DRfter the US led naval task force afforded protection to ships sailing in that route

Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire and rebels tried to board the vessel, the U.S. Navy said. USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.

“The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” sinking three of the four boats and killing the people on board while the fourth boat fled the area, the U.S. Central Command said. No damage to U.S. personnel or equipment was reported

The crew of the USS Gravely, US Naval destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the Southern Red Sea.

The events surrounding the Maersk Hangzhou represented the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since Nov. 19, the Central Command said. It was the first time the U.S. Navy said its personnel had killed Houthi fighters since the Red Sea attacks started.A top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.

Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels traveling through the waterway. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are also part of the new maritime security mission.In a significant development India, a member of the US led Quad  has not joined the coalition. India has however strengthened its naval presence in the region.

Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the Red Sea region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes,