MSC to continue Red Sea diversion following recent attack

The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has confirmed that one of its container ships was attacked in the Red Sea on Tuesday, and it will continue to reroute vessels booked for the Suez Canal transit via Cape of Good Hope.

PHOTO: Ship transiting through the Suez Canal. Getty Images

The Switzerland-based shipping company reported that its container ship, MSC UNITED VIII, was attacked while transiting the Red Sea on Tuesday at 12:25 GMT.

The vessel informed a nearby coalition task force warship of the attack, the MSC said. Following this, it engaged in evasive manoeuvres based on the instructions from the task force.

The incident occurred while the vessel was enroute from King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia to Karachi, Pakistan, MSC said. The crew was reportedly unharmed during the attack. MSC is currently conducting an in-depth assessment of the attacked container ship.

Following the incident, MSC has directed its vessels to steer clear of the area and reroute all ships scheduled for Suez Canal transit via the Cape of Good Hope.

Yahya Sare’e, a Houthi spokesperson, has claimed responsibility for the attack. “The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against the commercial ship, “MSC UNITED,” with appropriate naval missiles,” Sare’e posted on the microblogging platform, X (formerly Twitter).

The MSC was one of the first shipping firms to announce vessel diversions via Africa. The firm made the announcement after one of its vessels was attacked by Houthi militants in the Red Sea on 15 December.

By Manjula Nair  

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