Following a Houthi militant attack on the container ship Maersk Tigris in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, Maersk Line has announced that it has suspended all shipping in the Red Sea “until further notice” as a precaution against any potential risks.
The attack involved a single Houthi militant in a speedboat, who fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the 300-meter-long Maersk Tigris. The attacker was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle but no shots were fired and no one was injured in the attempted assault.
The vessel continued to sail through the Red Sea reassessing the situation while awaiting instructions from the Iranian authorities. Maersk Line has since confirmed that the crew and the vessel are safe and that their passage to the neighboring Suez Canal will be suspended.
Maersk Line released a statement stating that while “regulatory authorities [have] given permission for ships to continue their voyage through the Strait of Hormuz with an increased level of security, it is continually assessing the security situation”. Out of an abundance of caution, Maersk Line has suspended all shipping in the Red Sea until further notice.
