Maersk to resume shipping through Red Sea
by ChemOrbis Editorial Team - content@chemorbis.com
According to media reports, the Danish shipping giant Maersk will resume its operations in Red Sea after suspending its shipments amid security concerns. Last week, major shipping companies including Maersk have either halted or rerouted their shipments through Red Sea due to increased attacks by rebel groups, and the Copenhagen-based company said late last week that they expected this chaos in the Red Sea to continue for months.
Maersk cited the establishment of the US-led multinational force, Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) as the reason for this decision. The multinational force initially included the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia France, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Norway, and Spain while France, Italy and Spain pulled out of the force several days later than the announcement Accordingly, these countries joining the force will send their ships already sailing either in the Indian Ocean or in eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea within a few days, enabling the OPG to take charge and start escorting commercial shipping before the New Year.
Maersk made it clear that although security measures are in place to enable the transit of the Red Sea for their vessels, the overall risk in the area is not eliminated at this stage. They could return to the longer route around Africa depending on how safety conditions evolve.
“With the OPG initiative in operation, we are preparing to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea both eastbound and westbound. We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible,” the company said in a statement.
If OPG can assure a safe transit, other major shipping companies including MSC and CGN, petroleum giant BP may follow suit. This will evidently avoid a further major spike – and even cancel the previous gains - in freight rates for certain routes passing through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
However, some analysts still worry about signs of a potential major escalation that could easily open another front involving major regional actors.
Maersk cited the establishment of the US-led multinational force, Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) as the reason for this decision. The multinational force initially included the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia France, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Norway, and Spain while France, Italy and Spain pulled out of the force several days later than the announcement Accordingly, these countries joining the force will send their ships already sailing either in the Indian Ocean or in eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea within a few days, enabling the OPG to take charge and start escorting commercial shipping before the New Year.
Maersk made it clear that although security measures are in place to enable the transit of the Red Sea for their vessels, the overall risk in the area is not eliminated at this stage. They could return to the longer route around Africa depending on how safety conditions evolve.
“With the OPG initiative in operation, we are preparing to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea both eastbound and westbound. We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible,” the company said in a statement.
If OPG can assure a safe transit, other major shipping companies including MSC and CGN, petroleum giant BP may follow suit. This will evidently avoid a further major spike – and even cancel the previous gains - in freight rates for certain routes passing through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
However, some analysts still worry about signs of a potential major escalation that could easily open another front involving major regional actors.
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