Maersk announces intention to continue avoiding Red Sea until safe passage is guaranteed

Danish shipping company Maersk announced that it will continue to divert its ships around the African continent via the Cape of Good Hope route until safe passage through the Red Sea is ensured.

The company said in a statement on Friday that despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire and the Houthis announcing their plans to stop attacks in the region, “the process of ending the current conflict between Israel and Hamas depends on continued commitment to a multi-stage roadmap, and therefore the ability to predict the situation remains a complex challenge.”

"Moreover, due to the ongoing tensions in the region, the security risks to commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait remain high," she added.

“With this in mind – and the safety of our crew, vessels and your cargo as our top priority – Maersk will continue to sail around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope until safe passage through the region is assured in the long term,” she continued.

It noted that its decision was taken “to improve stability and certainty across the suppliers’ supply chain,” stressing that “returning to the region without ensuring full safe passage could result in the need to adjust our networks again, which could prove complex both operationally and in terms of supply chain management.”

The company has notified its customers that when it is safe to return to the Red Sea, it will notify them of changes to the network well in advance so that they can plan their operations accordingly.

On Wednesday, the Houthis released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a ship that the movement had seized 14 months ago, and before that it announced that it would stop its naval attacks with the exception of Israeli ships. In return, the United States reclassified the Iranian-backed militia as a foreign terrorist organization, which threatens to continue the escalation in the region.

Since November 2023, the Iran-backed Houthi militia has been launching drone and missile attacks on cargo ships sailing in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, saying it is in support of Gaza, which has been subjected to an Israeli war of extermination since October 7 of the same year.

These attacks negatively affected shipping, trade and global supply chains, as many companies resorted to longer routes for safety, and harmed the economies of the Red Sea state.