The attacks on the container ships Maersk Detroit and
Maersk Chesapeake further raise the stakes of the group’s attacks on shipping
through the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The US and the UK
have launched multiple rounds of air strikes seeking to stop the attacks. On Tuesday, the US, in its ninth strike in two weeks, hit two Houthi
anti-ship missiles in Yemen.
Danish shipper Maersk identified two of its vessels
affected by the attacks as the US-flagged container ships Maersk Detroit and
Maersk Chesapeake. “While en route, both ships reported seeing explosions close
by and the US navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles,” Maersk
said. “The crew, ship, and cargo are safe and unharmed. The US Navy has turned both ships around and is escorting them back to
the Gulf of Aden.” Maersk said both vessels carried cargo belonging to the
US defence and state departments, as well as other government agencies, meaning
they were “afforded the protection of the US navy.”
The US military’s Central Command in a statement
blamed the Houthis for the attack, saying they fired “three anti-ship ballistic
missiles.” “One missile impacted in the sea,” it said. “The two other missiles
were successfully engaged and shot down by the USS Gravely”.
Meanwhile, Qatar,
one of the world’s top exporters of liquified natural gas, said its shipments
had been affected by the Houthi attacks. Qatar, a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has yet to see any of its
ships attacked, however. A statement from its state-owned QatarEnergy suggested
that cargos now are travelling around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, likely adding
time to their trips.