Danish shipping giant Maersk, which controls 14.8% of the global shipping containers market, has announced that because of attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, it has halted all its Red Sea shipping routes. The company said, "Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday (Friday) and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," Maersk said.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest shipping group, also said it was diverting its ships away from the Red Sea after its ships the MSC Platinum and MSC Alanya were attacked in the Red Sea. German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd suspended Red Sea sailings until at least Monday after its container ship the Al Jasrah was involved in an incident, even though it was sailing away from Israel from Piraeus to Singapore.
Last Thursday Irish tanker owner Ardmore reported an attack on its chemical tanker Ardmore Encounter, while the vessel was in transit with a cargo of jet fuel from India to the Netherlands or Sweden
Maersk's decision was highly significant for European as well as Israeli trade because the Danish company's ships will now sail around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa adding 18 days to an already stretched supply chain. The decision to avoid the Suez Canal will also hit Egypt hard with the canal's fees making up 2% of Egypt's GDP.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 17, 2023.
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