MSC Containership Attacked By Yemeni Armed Forces, Raises Concerns

MSC United, owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), was attacked while travelling from King Abdullah Port to Karachi. The attack was claimed by the Yemeni Armed Forces, who said that the ship was the target of naval missiles fired as part of their plan to strike Israeli ships or those sailing into the ports of occupied Palestine. The attack took place at around 12:25 UTC on December 26, 2023.

The Yemeni Armed Forces highlighted that they will continue to target particular ships while guaranteeing the security of maritime travel to locations other than Israel. This move is related to the continued conflict since Israel is attacking Gaza with its aircraft even in the face of requests for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Containership — Image for representation purpose only

On December 22, UN Secretary-General António Guterres brought attention to the terrible circumstances in Gaza, where there have been over 20,000 confirmed Palestinian dead and 1.9 million displaced people. With the population facing issues like a strained health system, scarce clean water supplies, and the possibility of widespread hunger, the UN has asked for a humanitarian ceasefire to meet the population’s immediate needs.

MSC stated that all crew members were safe and had not been harmed in the attack on MSC United. The ship immediately notified a coalition task force battleship in the area and carried out the directed evasive manoeuvres. Following the tragedy, MSC has made seafarers’ safety its top priority and has decided to reroute ships scheduled to transit Suez via the Cape of Good Hope until safety can be guaranteed.

Significant shipping firms, including Maersk, CMA CGM, and COSCO, have decided to partially resume transits across the Red Sea in response to the deployment of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG), a multinational security initiative in response to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the region. Given the security issues in the Red Sea, the increasing number of attacks has caused shipping corporations to investigate an alternative route, the Cape of Good Hope.

Reference: Offshore Energy

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