Less than a week after the planned return of some ships to the Red Sea, global shipping giant Maersk has announced another 48-hour suspension. On December 31, 2023, Maersk confirmed that the Maersk Hangzhou was attacked while passing through the Bab el-Mandab Strait from Singapore to the port of Suez in Egypt, "At present, the crew of the ship is safe, ensuring the safety of the crew is the company's top priority, and we have taken all necessary security measures to protect the crew." The crew will receive all the support they need to deal with this difficult and serious situation." According to Maersk, the "Maersk Hangzhou" ship hangs the Singapore flag and is deployed on the Maersk Asia-Europe route AE12, with a design capacity of 14,000 TEU. At around 6.30pm Central European time on 30 December, the ship was struck by an unknown object while 55 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen, but there was no indication of fire on board and the ship was able to continue north. After the initial attack on the ship, four ships approached the Maersk Hangzhou and opened fire and attempted to board the ship. A Navy ship in the nearby waters deployed a helicopter to work with its security team and successfully repelled the boarding attempt. "In light of this incident and to allow time to investigate the details of the incident and to further assess the security situation, Maersk has decided to suspend voyages through the region for the next 48 hours." Maersk told reporters it was working to establish the full circumstances of the incident and was in close dialogue with Operation Guardian of Prosperity (OPG) and relevant authorities to assess the level of security in the area.