Shipping giant CMA CGM said February 20 that its container vessel, Jules Verne, was able to pass through the Red Sea unharmed with protection from a French naval escort less than a month after the company said that it was suspending transit through the waterway.

“In coordination with French naval forces, the CMA CGM Jules Verne transited the Red Sea without incident, escorted by the frigate Alsace,” the company said in a statement.

According to The Times of Israel, the EU announced February 19 that it plans to begin its own naval missions to protect shippers passing through the Red Sea.

"Europe will ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, working alongside our international partners," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a social media post.

The decision to begin protective naval missions comes on the same day that the crew of a Belize-flagged, U.K.-registered cargo ship abandoned the vessel off of Yemen after it was attacked by Houthi rebels.

According to the BBC, the Rubymar bulk carrier was in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was hit by missiles, causing the crew onboard to abandon the ship. Houthi rebels later claimed that the vessel sank.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said an official from the ship reported that it was hit by a drone roughly 68 miles north of Djibouti late February 19, “resulting in superficial damage to the accommodation superstructure,” according to VOA News. The UKMTO report also said that nobody in the crew was hurt.

The British security firm Ambrey reported another attack in the same area, identifying the affected vessel as a Marshall Islands-flagged ship.

Since November, Houthi rebels have been attacking Israel-linked ships passing through the Red Sea in a show of support for Palestine, which has disrupted global shipping in the region and caused many major shippers to reroute their vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.