More shipping companies announced pausing journeys in the Red Sea as a Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday in a strike that US officials said originated from Yemeni territory.
The attack on the M/V Swan Atlantic was the latest in a series on ships sailing the sea since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the US officials, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters the vessel was attacked by multiple projectiles launched from territory controlled by Yemen’s Houthis, referring to revolutionary forces in the Arab impoverished country.
The owner of the ship said it was hit by an unidentified object, claiming that none of its crew had been injured.
Oystein Elgan, chief executive of owner Inventor Chemical Tankers, told Reuters the ship’s water tank had been damaged in the attack but all the vessel’s systems were operating normally.
Operator Uni-Tankers said in a statement the crew had brought under control a small fire after the vessel was struck on its port side. The ship was carrying vegetable oils and is sailing to Reunion Island.
Yemeni Armed Forces have, in the recent weeks, staged several attacks on vessels in the Rea Sea heading towards the occupied territories. The attacks have been in solidarity with the Palestinian people and resistance who have been under brutal aggression by the Israeli occupation since October 7th.
Shipping Pause
Meanwhile on Monday, Global energy producer BP on Monday announced putting on pause all oil tankers transfers in the Red Sea citing the security in the region.
“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” read the company’s statement.
So far, six big shipping companies have now stopped their ships using the Red Sea in the wake of the attacks.
BP was the latest to announce a suspension, joining the Hong Kong-based OOCL, the French CMA CGM, the Danish Maersk, the German Hapag-Lloyd and the Italian-Swiss-owned Mediterranean Shipping Co, the world’s largest shipping company.
For his part, the chair of the Suez Canal Authority, Lt Gen Osama Rabie, also revealed that 55 ships have been redirected around the Cape of Good Hope, a two-week longer journey than that through the Bab al-Mandab Strait south of the Suez Canal. More than 20 ships have reported incidents in the past months, many around the narrow Bab al-Mandab that separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
