French carrier suspends Red Sea crossings due to Houthi attacks

French shipping company CMA CGM announced this Saturday that, like the Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd groups, it is suspending its container ships from crossing the Red Sea following attacks on ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The group “has decided to order all CMA CGM container ships in the region that must transit the Red Sea to reach safe areas” or not leave waters deemed safe “with immediate effect and until further notice,” according to the released statement. this Saturday.

Danish shipping group Maersk said on Friday it had ordered its ships to stop using the strategic strait for international trade in the Red Sea following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Following the incident involving a Maersk vessel in Gibraltar on Thursday and another attack on a container ship on Friday, “we have asked Maersk vessels in the region due to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to suspend their voyages until further notice,” a company spokesman said. Maersk in Gibraltar. Company statement quoted by AFP.

The Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, is of strategic importance for shipping as 40% of international trade passes through this passage.

The Houthis, who are close to Iran, have warned they will attack ships sailing off the coast of Yemen with ties to Israel in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, a British warship shot down a suspected attack drone on Friday evening that was believed to be targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday.

“The recent wave of unlawful attacks poses a direct threat to international trade and maritime security in the Red Sea,” a British official said on social media site X.