The methanol-fueled container vessel Laura Maersk sits at anchor in harbour right after an official naming ceremony in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 14, 2023.
Tom Tiny | Reuters
Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked a Maersk container vessel, prompting the organization to pause all sailing by the Red Sea for 48 hours, Maersk mentioned on Sunday.
The assault was the most recent by Houthi militants in Yemen, who have been concentrating on vessels in The Red Sea to demonstrate their assistance for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas combating Israel in Gaza.
U.S. Navy helicopters sank 3 of four modest boats utilised by the militants to assault the Maersk Hangzhou vessel in the southern Purple Sea late on Saturday, the U.S. military services claimed.
The crew onboard the Maersk ship documented a flash on deck on Dec 30 at all-around 1830 CET, when the vessel was 55 nautical miles southwest of Al Hodeidah, Maersk said.
Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, responding to distress calls from Maersk Hangzhou, returned fire on the Houthi boats in self-defence and sank 3 of the vessels, with no survivors, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned in a statement.
The fourth boat fled the space, explained the statement on social media platform X.
The Maersk Hangzhou crew was harmless and there was no indication of fire onboard the vessel that was entirely maneuverable and continued its journey north to Port Suez, Maersk said.
The Singapore-flagged vessel with capability to have 14,000 containers was en route from Singapore.