U.S. Navy intercepts missiles fired at Maersk ships in Red Sea 

The U.S. Navy has reportedly intercepted missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi militants while escorting two Maersk ships in the Red Sea.

“While en route, both ships reported seeing explosions close by and the U.S. Navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles,” Maersk said in a statement, adding that it was suspending Red Sea transits by vessels of its U.S. subsidiary.

A spokesperson for the Houthi military forces said they fired ballistic missiles at several U.S. warships that were protecting two U.S. commercial vessels.

Both commercial vessels are operated by Maersk Line Limited (MLL), its U.S. subsidiary that carries cargo for the Department of Defence, Department of State, USAID, and other U.S. government agencies.

Both are enrolled in the Maritime Security Program (MSP) and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) with the U.S. government, which is why they were escorted through the strait by U.S. Navy vessels, Maersk said.

MSP and VISA are programmes run by the U.S. Defence Department to transport forces, supplies and equipment during times of war or national emergency.

The vessels and crew were unharmed and were being escorted back to the Gulf of Aden by the U.S. Navy, Maersk said. Bab al-Mandab is the outlet of the Red Sea, between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.

The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement that Houthi forces targeted a number of U.S. warships with ballistic missiles on Wednesday in a “clash” that lasted more than two hours and led to a U.S. warship being directly hit and the two commercial vessels having “to withdraw and return.”