Maersk Sets Sail for Red Sea Return “Once Conditions Align”

Maersk is resuming operations in the Red Sea. The Danish shipping giant, the second largest shipping company worldwide, has announced its intention to resume operations in the area “as soon as conditions permit,“ although it did not specify a date.

At a press conference, the CEO of Maersk, Vincent Clerc, said that the resumption of navigation in the Suez Canal will depend on the safety of its crews. Maersk stopped operating in the area at the beginning of last year.

For his part, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, has maintained that the canal is “fully prepared” to receive vessels and return to normal service levels following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, despite the fact that, according to local media, it has been repeatedly violated.

The Suez Canal Authority assures that the passage of vessels is safe since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

Rabie also noted that the Suez Canal Authority is exploring new areas of cooperation with Maersk, such as ship dismantling, container manufacturing and repair, shipyard development and logistics services. The institution has recently urged both Maersk and other shipping lines to return to the route.

Early last year, Maersk announced that it would pause transits through the Suez Canal following an attack on one of its ships on December 30th. Vessels were diverted around the Cape of Good Hope, with consequent time extensions. Freight rates shot up by 160%.

Nearly two years have passed since Maersk began avoiding the area due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on commercial vessels. To avoid these risks, both it and MSC have opted to reroute their routes around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, which means an extra ten to fourteen days per voyage.

With the September ceasefire, the Houthis announced that they would suspend attacks as long as the truce held. Recently, the Suez Canal Authority reported that traffic in the area had begun to recover, with 229 ships returning in October, the highest monthly figure since the beginning of the crisis. Canal revenues were up 14.2% year-on-year between July and October.