22/12/2023–|Last updated: 12/22/202311:52 PM (Mecca time)
Decisions by international and international maritime companies and bodies have increased in recent days to stop, suspend, and change the route of their ships’ passage through… The Red Seafollowing attacks launched by the Ansar Allah group (The Houthis) on ships they said were heading to Israel.
C. H. Robinson
The global logistics group said on Friday that it had rerouted more than 25 ships to sail around the Cape of Good Hope last week, and that number is likely to continue to grow.
She added, “It is expected that traffic to ports or areas on ship routes will be canceled, and prices will rise for many trade movements in the first quarter of 2024.”
CMA-CGM
In turn, the French shipping group “CMA-CGM” said last Monday that it had redirected some ships through the Cape of Good Hope route, and issued instructions to all other container ships that were scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to reach safe areas and stop their trips until… Further notice.
The group also clarified on Thursday that it will impose additional fees on shipping operations due to the long distance.
Euronav and Frontline
The Belgian oil tanker company Euronav said last Monday that it would avoid the Red Sea region until further notice, while the Norway-based oil tanker group Frontline said on the same day that its ships would avoid passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Evergreen
For its part, the Taiwanese container shipping company Evergreen said last Monday that its ships in regional services heading to the Red Sea ports will sail to nearby safe waters pending further notice, while the ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea will be redirected to the Cape of Good Hope route. Temporarily stopped accepting Israeli goods for transportation.
Gram Carriers and Hapag-Lloyd
The Norwegian shipping company, which specializes in car truck carriers, said yesterday, Thursday, that its ships were prevented from passing through the Red Sea, while the German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced on the same day that it would redirect 25 ships by the end of the year to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, indicating that it would take… Other decisions at the end of the year.
HMM
The South Korean container shipping company HMM also said last Tuesday that since December 15, it had ordered all its ships coming from Europe, which usually pass through the Suez Canal, to change their course to the Cape of Good Hope route for an indefinite period of time.
Hough Autoliners
For its part, the Norwegian shipping company “Hoge Autoliners” said last Wednesday that it would stop crossings in the Red Sea after the Norwegian Maritime Authority raised the alert level for the southern part of the sea to the highest level.
Maersk
The Danish shipping group temporarily suspended all shipments through the Red Sea until further notice, following an “imminent accident” that nearly occurred to a ship belonging to it.
Maersk stated last Tuesday that it would change the course of its ships to sail around the Cape of Good Hope route, and that it would impose additional fees on transporting containers on the routes affected by this.
MSC
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on December 16 that its ships would not pass through the Suez Canal, and that some of them had already been diverted to the Cape of Good Hope, a day after the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles at one of its ships.
Ocean Network Express
Ocean Network Express (ONE), a Japanese joint venture between Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, said last Tuesday that it had decided to change the course of ships away from the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Instead, its ships will sail around the Cape of Good Hope, or temporarily stop their flights and move to safe areas.
Orient Overseas Container Line
Orient Overseas Container Line, based in Hong Kong, announced on Thursday that it had ordered its ships to change course or stop sailing to the waters of the Red Sea. The shipping company owned by Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. also stopped accepting goods to and from Israel until further notice.
Linnaeus Wilhelmsen
The Norwegian “Wollenius Wilhelmsen” group also said last Tuesday that it would stop all its trips in the Red Sea until further notice, noting that changing the course of ships to the Cape of Good Hope would increase the travel time from one week to two weeks.
Yang Ming
In turn, the Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming said on December 18 that it would divert its ships sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the Cape of Good Hope within the next two weeks.
It is mentioned that United State Last Tuesday, through its Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, it announced the formation of a multinational coalition, in which Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Bahrain, Seychelles, and Spain participate, through joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as part of what was called Operation “Guardian of Prosperity.”
As the US Department of Defense said (PentagonOn Thursday, more than 20 countries in total agreed to participate in the new US-led coalition to protect trade in the Red Sea.
However, the new total indicates that at least 8 of the countries that have decided to join these efforts refuse to disclose their participation publicly, an indication of the political sensitivities of the process with escalating regional tensions as a result of the war between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation.
The Houthi group also responded that this coalition will not stop its operations in the Red Sea, which aim to support the Palestinian people in confronting the Israeli aggression against them. Gaza strip“It is not a show of force nor a challenge to anyone,” according to the group’s spokesman, Muhammad Abdel Salam.
