| Attacks on the MVMaersk Hangzhou | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOperation Prosperity Guardian and theRed Sea crisis | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Yemen (SPC) |  United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Marc Miguez[4] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Fourfast attack craft[5] Coastal missile batteries | Onefreighter Oneaircraft carrier Twodestroyers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Three fast attack craft sunk 10 killed[6] | One civilian freighter damaged | ||||||
On 30 December 2023,Houthi forces in theGulf of Aden attacked theMaerskcommercial vesselMaersk Hangzhou. Early the next day, Houthis again attacked theMaersk Hangzhou, attempting toboard the freighter. TheMaersk Hangzhou made adistress signal, to whichU.S. Navy forces of theaircraft carrierUSS Dwight D. Eisenhower anddestroyerUSS Gravely responded. The U.S., along with Maersk security personnel aboard the ship, repelled the attack. The U.S. sank three Houthi vessels, killing ten Houthis. Maersk announced a 48-hour pause on shipping through the Red Sea following the incident.[1] On January 2 Maersk announced a halt on shipping through the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks.[2]
With the start of theGaza war, theHouthi-controlledSupreme Political Council declared its support forHamas and began launching airstrikes on commercial ships transiting theRed Sea, especially in theBab el-Mandeb, the narrowstrait that connects the Red Sea to theGulf of Aden.[7] While the Houthis initially claimed to be targeting only commercial ships bound for Israeli ports or with some link to Israel,[8] they soon began indiscriminately targeting vessels, attempting airstrikes on ships with no discernible Israeli ties.[8][9] TheMaersk Hangzhou had previously docked in Haifa, Israel multiple times including most recently in October 2023. However, it was not bound for Israel when it was attacked. Currently, its destination at the time of the attack is unknown.[10] To launch attacks on Red Sea shipping, the Houthis usecoastal missile batteries,loitering munitions, andfast attack craft armed with lightautocannons,machine guns andanti-tank missiles.[11] Before the airstrike on theMaersk Hangzhou, the United States had shot down Houthi missiles and drones and deployed naval ships to protect Red Seashipping lanes, but had not engaged directly with the Houthis (who act as anIranian proxies).[12]
The Houthi airstrikes causedMaersk, a major international shipping company, to announce on 15 December that its ships would suspend operations through the Red Sea (and then theSuez Canal) and instead would transit around theCape of Good Hope.[7][2] In response to the Houthi airstrikes, the United States government announcedOperation Prosperity Guardian, aU.S. Navy-led multilateral naval operation undertaken byCombined Task Force 153 to protect shipping.[13] With the increase in security provided by Operation Prosperity Guardian, Maersk announced on 29 December 2023, that its shipping operations would resume transiting the Red Sea.[14] As an incentive for the crew members of ships making such transits, Maersk announced its crews passing through the Red Sea would receive double pay.[15] The MVMaersk Hangzhou, a Danish-owned, Singapore-flagged ship,[6] was one of the first Maersk vessels to transit the Red Sea after the company resumed operations in the area.[16]
For increased protection, theMaersk Hangzhou had aboard a team of armedprivate security contractors as it transited the Red Sea.[6] The U.S. also stationed itsCarrier Strike Group 2 in the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian; thiscarrier strike group consisted of theaircraft carrierUSS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its escortingArleigh Burke-classdestroyers,USS Laboon andUSS Gravely.[17] In the ten days after the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian, naval vessels had shot down 17 drones and 4anti-ship ballistic missiles, and approximately 1,200 merchant ships traveled through the Red Sea without any drone or missile strikes.[7]
As theMaersk Hangzhou sailed through the Red Sea on 30 December 2023, it received airstrikes by Houthi missile batteries with at least one missile hitting the ship at approximately 8:30 P.M. local time.[18] Responding to adistress call from theMaersk Hangzhou, the U.S. Navy destroyers USSLaboon and USSGravely sailed to the scene, and the latter successfully intercepted twoanti-ship ballistic missiles.[18][6]
The next day, theMaersk Hangzhou was approached by four Houthiskiffs armed with mounted weapons. At approximately 6:30 A.M. local time (03:30 GMT), the Houthi squadron sailed within 20 meters (66 ft) of theMaersk Hangzhou, fired upon theMaersk Hangzhou using bothcrew-served weapons andsmall arms, and attempted toboard the ship and seize it.[6] The freighter's security contractors then engaged the Houthis while the freighter again issued a distress call.[6] MH-60R helicopters from theGravely and the aircraft carrier USSDwight D. Eisenhower were then dispatched to the scene.[6] On arriving they were engaged by the Houthi squadron. The American helicopters returned fire, sinking three of the Houthi craft and killing their crews. The fourth Houthi boat managed to escape.[6] There was no damage to U.S. personnel or equipment, and no injuries to the crew of theMaersk Hangzhou.[19]
TheU.S. Central Command said that the Houthis' assault on theMaersk Hangzhou was the 23rd "illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping" since 19 November 2023.[16] The Houthis acknowledged ten of its members were killed in the engagement.[6] TheMaersk Hangzhou was able to continue its journey north toPort Suez under its own power.[20] The day after the engagement on theMaersk Hangzhou, Maersk announced that it was once again suspending its operations through the Red Sea for at least 48 hours.[2][1][17] On 2 January, Maersk announced that it had "decided to pause all transits through the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden until further notice"; three days later, the company confirmed that "all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around theCape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future."[2]
On 4 January, the U.S. and its allies (Australia,Bahrain,Belgium,Canada,Denmark,Germany,Italy,Japan,the Netherlands,New Zealand,Singapore, and theUK) issued a "final warning" to the Houthis in a joint statement, calling for "the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews" and stating "The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, andfree flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways."[21]British Foreign SecretaryDavid Cameron, in a telephone call toIranian Foreign MinisterHossein Amir-Abdollahian, said that the UK held Iran responsible for halting airstrikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea, given Iran's "longstanding support to the Houthis";Grant Shapps, the UK's defense minister, said that Britain would consider "direct action" against the Houthis to prevent future "unlawful seizures and attacks" in the Red Sea.[22]
On 7 January, the Houthis demanded that all commercial ships denounce Israel or face attack; they also vowed more retaliatory attacks against the U.S. Navy.[23]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2023 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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