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London
CNN
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Maersk has suspended shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal “until further notice” as it continues to review safety following attacks on its ships.
Danish shipping companies initially suspended shipping through the Red Sea for 48 hours starting Sunday following the weekend attack on Maersk in Hangzhou by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.
The attack came just days after Maersk resumed sailing in the area following the establishment of a US-led international naval mission to protect commercial shipping.
“The investigation into the incident is ongoing and we continue to suspend all cargo transport through the region while we further assess the ever-changing situation,” Maersk said in a statement on Tuesday.
In some cases, ships will be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, it added.
More than 100 of the company’s ships sailing in the coming weeks will be diverted, according to a schedule posted on Maersk’s website late Monday, highlighting how precarious the situation is on one of the world’s key trade routes. is reflected. The Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, typically carries 30% of the world’s container trade.
Other major shipping companies, including Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen Line and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, have also suspended use of the vital waterway following attacks by the Houthis, who claim retaliation against Israel for military operations against Hamas in Gaza. It’s stopped.
Disruptions to global supply chains are already increasing transportation costs and lengthening delivery times.
“Longer voyages for diversion services mean longer lead times for importers and the threat of port congestion. However, there have been no reports of backlogs so far,” said logistics company Freitos. Research Director Judah Levin said.
Maersk initially resumed waterway shipping around Christmas, but the Maersk Hangzhou was en route from Singapore to Singapore when it collided with an “unknown object” while passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. transport was suspended again. Port Suez, Egypt.
“Following the initial attack, four ships approached Maersk Hangzhou and opened fire in an attempt to board the ship,” the company said in a statement.
The U.S. military said its helicopters responded to a distress call from the ship and sank three boats operated by the Houthis, killing all aboard. A fourth boat reportedly fled the area.
France’s CMA CGM announced last week that it would gradually increase the number of ships passing through the Suez Canal. The company declined further comment Tuesday, referring CNN to a Dec. 26 statement.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said its ships would continue to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in light of “incidents” in recent days. “We are closely monitoring the situation on a daily basis and will continue to reroute our vessels until January 9, when our position will be reviewed again,” a company spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.
Fares and stock prices soar
Shares in Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd rose on the first trading day of the new year, likely driven by hopes that the companies could lock in higher delivery rates into 2024.
Hapag-Lloyd rose 3.6% as of 11:30 a.m. ET, while Maersk rose 6.4%. In recent weeks, the companies announced new fees for transporting goods along many of the world’s busiest trade routes.
The cost of shipping a typical 40-foot container from Shanghai to New York rose from $3,500 in mid-December to an average of nearly $5,000 this week, according to Freightos data. It costs about $2,400 to send the same size container from Shanghai to Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest container port in the Netherlands, up from $1,800 in mid-December.
Freitos’ Levine said the “all-in price” for major trade routes originating in Asia is $5,000 to $8,000 per container, 2.5 to four times “normal levels” for this time of year. Although it is a significant increase, it is still 45-75% below the “peak of the pandemic” in late 2021, he added.
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