COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — Danish shipping giant Maersk will reroute all its cargo vessels normally entering European maritime territory through Egypt’s Suez Canal to instead sail around the African continent, the company announced Friday.
The move comes after a standstill of maritime travel for thousands of Maersk containers at the Red Sea ordered by the company on Tuesday when one of its cargo ships survived a missile attack the day before New Year's Eve.
“The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level,” Maersk said.
Maersk Hangzhou, a container ship sailing under the Singaporean flag, was presumably attacked with missiles at the Red Sea on Dec. 30 by Houthi militants, according to Danish broadcaster TV 2.
Armed members of the group later attempted to board the cargo ship without success as U.S. Navy helicopters prevented the hijack by destroying three Houthi boats. Houthi militants had prior to the incident claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on vessels sailing toward the Suez Canal through the Red Sea, attracting international attention.
The Houthi movement is a Yemen-based group supported by Iran. It claims to target Israel-bound ships amid the ongoing war in Gaza, but vessels bound for different destinations have been attacked.
Last month, a coalition including the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom agreed to strengthen their presence in the area to project ships, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday.
"The impacts of these attacks stretch across the globe," Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said, adding that "this is an international problem that requires an international solution."
On Monday, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps told the Daily Telegraph that “we are willing to take direct action, and we won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
He added: “The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: We are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks."
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, told TV 2 that direct attacks targeting Houthis on land are possible in the future.
“If the Americans and their allies get enough of this, they will strike again one way or another. It will be relatively easy to let planes go in and bomb various targets,” Jakobsen said. “When we fought pirates in Somalia, you also saw individual attacks on land to send a signal.”
Like Iran, the Houthi movement supports Hamas in its war on Israel. An attack on Houthis could escalate the current situation with Israel-Gaza to a broader regional conflict.
Around 12% of global trade uses the Suez Canal to connect swift movements between Asia and Europe. The reroute around Africa will add 10-20 travel days Maersk told DR.
The Danish shipping company is among the largest cargo handlers by sea globally. Its fleet was one of the largest in the world taking around an 18% stake of worldwide fleet capacity, according to research from the Financial Times.
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