Global shipping companies have halted journeys through the Red Sea because of the threat of attacks by Yemeni rebels, in moves that could disrupt vital trade through the Suez Canal.
AP Møller-Mærsk, which operates the world’s second-largest container shipping fleet, on Friday said it had instructed all vessels due to pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait to “pause their journey until further notice”.
The strategically important strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, runs past Yemen and there have been more than 10 attacks on ships in the area by the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.