Amid no signs of easing tensions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal, disruptions to global shipping in the area could last until next year, the chief executive of container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S told Financial Times this week.
Maersk’s CEO Vincent Clerc told FT:
We can see that the situation in the Red Sea is not going to be shortlived, but will last at least into the second half of the year. We are not very optimistic we will be going through Suez any time soon.
Since December 2023, global shipping has been disrupted by increased attacks by Iranian Houthis in Yemen on commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea before and after entering or leaving the Suez Canal.
Massive Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have forced many tanker and container ship operators to divert voyages through Africa, resulting in longer journey times, delayed delivery of goods, disrupted supply chains and higher shipping costs.
Analysts believe that disruptions to vessel traffic on the Red Sea/Suez Canal route could continue for several months and eventually lead to a permanent increase in freight costs and a shortage of container ships now taking longer routes via the Cape of Good Horn.
Maersk warns on its website:
While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near future, the situation in the area is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile. All available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level, and therefore has a potential impact on your logistics operations.
Meanwhile, the US military has destroyed three uncrewed aircraft systems in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, US Central Command said on Thursday.
CENTCOM said in a statement that the systems “pose an immediate threat to US, coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.” The incident occurred about 2 p.m. local time. The CENTCOM reported:
These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition and merchant vessels.
