A Maersk containership has been hit by a missile within the Pink Sea, the U.S. has reported.
The U.S. Central Command stated the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou reported it was struck by a missile whereas transiting the Southern Pink Pink Sea at roughly 8:30 p.m. native time on Saturday.
The ship requested help and is claimed to be “seaworthy” with no reported accidents. The USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the incident, with the USS Gravely efficiently capturing down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
Maersk confirmed particulars of the incident in a press release to gCaptain. The vessel was touring by way of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait en route from Singapore to Port Suez, Egypt, when the crew noticed a “flash” on deck. The vessel and crew are reported secure.
“At roughly 06:30 pm CET, when the vessel was 55nm southwest of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, the crew reported having noticed a flash on deck. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a indication of fireside onboard the vessel, and we’re at the moment working to establish the total particulars of the incident. The vessel is totally maneuverable and continues the transit north,” the assertion stated.
“Making certain the protection of our crew is our utmost precedence, and all obligatory safety measures are applied to guard them,” the assertion added.
The Maersk Hangzhou is a 14,000-capacity containership deployed on Maersk’s AE12-service between Europe and Asia.
The incident comes has Maersk has been resuming transits by way of the Pink Sea with the institution of the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) naval coalition, whereas another carriers have opted to proceed to reroute ships across the Cape of Good Hope as a consequence of security issues because the Iran-backed Houthis have continued to hold out missile assaults towards business transport.
Maersk suspended transits by way of the Pink Sea again on December 15 a day after a near-miss missile assault on the Maersk Gibraltar close to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, connecting the Pink Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The announcement by Maersk led to different operators additionally suspending voyages and redirecting ships across the Cape of Good Hope. Since then about half of the containerships that usually transit the area have been rerouted.
Denmark on Friday stated it was sending a frigate to affix Operation Prosperity Guardian.
The Central Command stated the incident the twenty third unlawful assault by the Houthis on worldwide transport because the November 19 hijacking of the Galaxy Chief automotive provider, which continues by be held in Yemeni waters.
Full Pink Sea Protection: Pink Sea Transport Assaults
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