Maersk will pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice and send them on a detour around Africa, a spokesperson for the company told the press on December 15.

"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar on December 14 and yet another attack on a container vessel on December 15, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," the company said in a statement.

On December 14, Maersk said its vessel Maersk Gibraltar was targeted by a missile while travelling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the crew and ship were reported safe.

Earlier on December 15, Maersk denied a claim by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement that the militia had struck a Maersk vessel sailing towards Israel.

"The vessel was not hit," a Maersk spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement following the Houthi claim.

The Houthis had claimed they carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone. The Houthis made the claim in a statement and did not release any evidence.

Maersk said the company was deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.