Danish shipping giant Moller-Maersk and Germany-based containership operator Hapag-Lloyd said today they will suspend all vessel passages through the Red Sea, the former until further notice and the latter until Monday, 18 December, following a series of attacks on shipping in the area.
All Maersk vessels in the area that had planned to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait have been instructed to pause their journeys.
Maersk said it is "deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden" that "pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers", following a near-miss incident involving the Maersk Gibraltar yesterday, 14 December, and another attack today. The Maersk Gibraltar was targeted during its passage from Salalah in Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The crew and vessel were reported as safe.
Hapag-Lloyd's Al Jasrah was attacked this morning. It said it will decide on Monday how to proceed.
The attacks have been claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which have targted tankers and other commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. The Houthis began targeting Israeli-linked vessels in the region in response to Israel's military action in Gaza. They have since pledged to prevent the navigation of all ships heading to Israel, regardless of nationality.
There have as yet been few signs of tankers avoiding the area, which is vital to global oil trade. Shipments of all types of oil through the Suez Canal, at the north end of the Red Sea, either by tanker or through the Sumed pipeline accounted for 12pc of seaborne-traded oil in the first half of 2023.
