Shipping companies abandon Red Sea routes over Houthi attacks

Maersk are one of the shipping giants who have opted to stop sailing through the Red Sea
Maersk are one of the shipping giants who have opted to stop sailing through the Red Sea Copyright Leon Neal/Getty Images
Copyright Leon Neal/Getty Images
By Saskia O'Donoghue with Agencies
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The decision comes as a British destroyer shoots down a 'suspected attack drone' in the ocean which lies between Asia and Africa.

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British destroyer HMS Diamond has shot down a suspected "attack drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea" during the night from Friday to Saturday.

That’s according to the country’s Minister of Defence Grant Shapps, who took to X - formerly Twitter - to share the announcement.

https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1735979682854826175

The Houthis have warned that they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen and with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American and French warships patrolling the area.

The United Kingdom announced at the end of November the dispatch of the warship HMS Diamond to the Gulf to respond to "growing concerns" on the security of maritime trade routes in the area.

Danish shipping giant Maersk on Friday ordered its ships to no longer pass through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait "until further notice" after new attacks.

The German shipowner Hapag-Lloyd also announced on Friday that it was suspending crossings of its container ships on the Red Sea at least until Monday after the attack on the Red Sea. one of its ships by the Houthis.

This political-military movement, which controls a large part of Yemen, belongs, like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, to what they call "the axis of resistance" against Israel, supported by Iran.

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The Houthis are the epitome of 21st-century non-state actors