Maersk decides the Red Sea is too unsafe for its ships for now

Container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S said it will once again stop letting its vessels sail through the Red Sea, a vital trade corridor, after another of its carriers came under attack in the space of a few weeks.

“We have decided to pause all transits through the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden until further notice,” Copenhagen-based Maersk said in a notice on its website. While it had already announced a pause that was only for two days as it reviewed the situation.

Iran-backed Houthi militants have said they are targeting merchant ships transiting the Red Sea that have any kind of link to Israel to punish Tel Aviv for the conflict in Gaza. Those connections have looked increasingly spurious, prompting swaths of the merchant fleet to stay away.

Tuesday’s decision by Maersk means two of the world’s largest container shipping lines have extended their pause on transits through an area that’s unavoidable for all vessels seeking to use Egypt’s Suez Canal to cut between Europe and Asia.

Instead Maersk, the world’s second-largest container ship owner, will re-route carriers south of Africa where that best serves its customers. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd AG said earlier it also would continue to avoid passing through the Red Sea. Shares of both firms jumped on speculation freight rates will rise as a result of increased transit times.

Maersk, which only late last year had announced a resumption of transits, rehalted them again on the final day of 2023 after Houthi rebels attempted to board the Maersk Hangzhou, a container ship, with four small boats. In mid-December another of its carriers, the Maersk Gibraltar, was attacked unsuccessfully.

Helicopters from the US-led protection mission, Prosperity Guardian, repelled the latest attack, sinking three of the boats. Maersk said at the time it would reassess the situation no later than Jan. 2.

“We will continue to pause all cargo movement through the area while we further assess the constantly evolving situation,” Maersk said in Tuesday’s statement. “In cases where it makes most sense for our customers, vessels will be rerouted and continue their journey around the Cape of Good Hope.”

Maersk’s home country of Denmark has said it will send a warship to participate in the US mission.