More shipping giants suspend passage via Red Sea after attacks

Two more major shipping firms, Mediterranean Shipping Company and French shipping company CMA CGM said on Saturday they were suspending passage through a Red Sea strait vital for global trade, after Yemeni rebel attacks in the area.

The announcement follows a similar decision by two of the world's largest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, in response to a warning by Huthi rebels. The Huthis, who control much of Yemen but are not recognised internationally, said they were targeting vessels near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait to pressure Israel over its devastating war with Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Forty percent of the world's international trade transits through the strait, which runs between Yemen, on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, and the African continent.