Following an attack on December 30th, shipping company Maersk of Denmark has announced the suspension of marine operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. At approximately 18H00 CET, the Maersk Hangzhou was attacked by a missile and then by four fast boats in an attempt to board the vessel. The security team issued a distress call and defended the vessel. Three of the boats presumably manned by Houthi terrorists were sunk by a helicopter deployed by a U.S. responding naval vessel.
The combined naval forces of a number of western nations led by the U.S. are maintaining passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait despite the presence of an Iranian destroyer. This vessel has been presumably stationed to protect Iran’s surrogate Houthi terrorists supplied by Iran and using resources captured from the armed forces of Yemen.
Interference in passage of merchant vessels carrying containers and liquid cargos through the Red Sea, north and southbound from the Suez Canal represents an obstruction to international shipping and will require vigorous suppressive action by international labor forces including interdiction along the coast of Yemen.
Freight rates are spiking as a result of interference in passage through the Red Sea. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index is up 40 percent over the past week since vessels will now have to transit the Cape of Good Hope. Platts Indexes have increased from 100 to 150 percent from north Asia to the Mediterranean and northern European ports.