Giant Shipping Operator "Maersk" Prepares to Resume Operations in Red Sea

Maersk is preparing to resume its operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, attributing its decision to deploying a US-led military force to ensure the safety of trade in the region, according to Reuters.

This comes two days after the Danish company announced its expectations that the chaos affecting shipping through the Red Sea would continue for several months, according to Bloomberg.

The Red Sea crisis is casting a shadow over global trade, with container ships already turning to sailing around Africa to avoid the region. Houthi militants in Yemen pledged to continue targeting ships in response to the Israeli war in Gaza.

Over the past week, only about 30 tankers entered the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. This equates to a decline of more than 40% compared to the daily average over the previous three weeks.

Maersk, which is the second largest container shipping line operator around the world, said in the statement: “As of today, Sunday, we have received confirmation that the previously announced multinational security initiative (Prosperity State Alliance) has been established and deployed to allow maritime trade to pass through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and once again to use the Suez Canal as a gateway between Asia and Europe.”

It added, "With the activation of this initiative, we are preparing to allow ships heading to the east and west to resume transit through the Red Sea."

A Pentagon spokesman said yesterday that the new international maritime coalition of the United States will act as a "rapid rescue patrol" to protect shipping traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants, but it will not accompany individual ships during transit.

Meantime, 103 container ships have taken a long route around Africa to avoid attacks, which leads to additional costs and delays, according to logistics giant Keon+Nagel.