A leading shipping firm says it doesn’t see routes through Suez Canal resuming until 2025 because of the ongoing threat of Red Sea attacks.
A.P. Moller-Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc told journalists: “There are no signs of de-escalation, and it is not safe for our vessels or personnel to go there … Our expectation at this point is that it will last well into 2025,.”
Yemen’s Houthi militants, who Iran backs, have been attacking ships travelling through the Red Sea corridor for nearly a year in solidarity with Hamas as its war with Israel continues in Gaza.
The Houthi assaults have caused massive disruption to international shipping through the region, once valued at $1 trillion (£77billion) in goods per year, as per AP.
Companies have been forced to use far longer routes, impacting freight rates and congestion to ports in Europe and Asia.
But the firm said it had seen strong demand in the third quarter, which it said was especially driven by exports out of China and Southeast Asia with no indications that volumes from Europe or North America would slow in the coming months.
Mr Clerc’s comments come just days after the Houthis targeted a ship travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea on Monday.
The ship’s captain reported two explosions close to the vessel. Still, it managed to escape undamaged, with no harm to the crew, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the group’s responsibility for the attack on Monday night.
He identified the vessel as the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Motaro. He claimed the rebels struck the vessel as well as two other attacks in the Arabian Sea, both of which were unreported.
However, he didn’t provide any evidence that these attacks took place, and the Houthis are known to exaggerate the extent of the damage caused by aggressions in the area.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.
The group seized one vessel during the campaign, in which four sailors have been killed. A US-led coalition in the Red Sea has intercepted drones and missiles throughout the campaign, with others failing to hit their targets, which have included Western military vessels.
