Burst! A CMA CGM container ship was also attacked? Freight rates rose in response

A spokesman for the Houthis claimed in a televised address that they had launched an attack on a Maltese flagged vessel, the CMA CGM Tage, which had ignored warnings. However, French container shipping giant CMA CGM later responded that the ship "was not damaged by the attack and did not suffer any accidents", while clarifying that the ship was destined for Egypt, not Israel. It is reported that the ship was traveling through the Red Sea and heading to Alexandria at the northern end of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

"CMA CGM Tage" Ship IMO: 9674555, built in 2015, flies the Maltese flag and has a capacity of 9,200TEU, serving CMA CGM's Bosphorus Express (BEX) route from Asia to the Black Sea. The ship once called on the domestic Yangshan Port, Ningbo Port, Xiamen port and Shekou port. It involves many SHIPPING companies including ANL, CMA CGM, CNC, COSCO SHIPPING, EVERGREEN and OOCL.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarri also announced the attack in a televised address. Mr. Sarri said the Houthis had sent a warning message to the ship, but the crew ignored it. Sarri did not elaborate on the nature of the message or the attack. It said the Houthis would continue their attacks until more aid entered the Gaza Strip.

The British naval detachment, Maritime Trade Action UK, said on its website that a ship was attacked at a time when the CMA CGM Tage was likely to have passed. The report did not name the vessel. It said there were reports of up to three explosions between one and five nautical miles from a commercial vessel.

The U.S. Central Command said Houthi forces fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Multiple merchant ships in the area reported the impact of the anti-ship ballistic missile on the surrounding waters, but no damage was reported. U.S. Central Command said it was the 24th attack on a merchant ship in the southern Red Sea since Nov. 19. In the wake of the attacks, many container shipping companies are avoiding the Red Sea for safety, rerouting their fleets thousands of miles around the African route. At the same time, the Houthis insist they are tracking and striking any ship with links to Israel.

The Houthi attacks have mainly focused on the key shipping route south of the Bab El-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, and a series of attacks have severely disrupted shipping in the region, bringing great instability to this vital waterway that carries about 12 percent of global trade. In the wake of the latest attack, CMA CGM announced a significant increase in freight rates (FAK rates), doubling rates for 40-foot containers in Asia and the Western Mediterranean from $3,000 to $6,000.