“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to pause their journey until further notice,” said a statement to AFP from the Danish firm.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack on a cargo ship plying the strait through which a significant portion of the world’s shipping passes.

[Israel can receive shipping via the Mediterranean. This will largely impact the Arab countries in the region, and they may end up having to do something about the Houthis. This again prompts the question of why Biden de-listed the Houthis as a terror group, and why his State Department hasn’t re-listed them yet. — Ed]