Two shipping companies have announced they will pause all journeys through the Red Sea after a series of attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, according to Al Jazeera.

Danish shipping company Maersk said on Friday it was suspending its vessels’ passage through the key Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd said it would pause journeys in the Red Sea until Monday.

The announcements come after attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen hit two Liberian-flagged ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier on Friday, a US defence official told the news agency Reuters.

A projectile, believed to be a drone, struck one of the vessels, causing a fire but no injuries, the official said.

The ship was identified as the Liberia-flagged Al-Jasrah, a 370-metre (1,200-foot) container ship built in 2016.

Private intelligence firm Ambrey said the vessel, owned by German transport company Hapag-Lloyd, “sustained physical damage from an aerial attack” north of the Yemeni coastal city of al-Makha (Mocha).

“The projectile reportedly hit the port side of the vessel and one container fell overboard due to the impact. The projectile caused a fire on deck” that was reported over radio, Ambrey said.

Two ballistic missiles were fired in the second attack, one of which struck a vessel, causing a fire, which the crew was working to extinguish, the US official said.

The Associated Press news agency identified the vessel struck in the second attack as the Liberain-flagged MSC Palatium III.

“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday [Thursday] 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 from Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies.

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has paused all its sailings through the Red Sea until December 18, a spokesperson said on Friday.

“Then we will decide for the period thereafter,” the spokesperson added.