Image: MARIO TAMA (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA)
“The situation is constantly evolving and fluctuates greatly,” the company said on Friday. The security risk remains at a significantly increased level. The company will therefore reroute its ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa for the foreseeable future.
In this context, Maersk alerted its customers to ongoing tensions in the region and significant disruptions in global supply chains. Maersk had discussed possible use of the route despite the recent attack by Houthi rebels on one of its freighters in the Red Sea. The shipping company relied on the multinational security initiative OPG, which is intended to enable maritime trade through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. German rival Hapag-Lloyd rerouted its fleet on Tuesday for at least another week. Next Tuesday, the Hamburg company wants to decide again whether the ships should be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope.
In Yemen, the Houthi rebels have declared solidarity with the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip and have repeatedly attacked ships off the coast they control. Because of the rerouted ships between Asia and Northern Europe, experts expect each trip to take an additional ten days and increase fuel costs of up to a million dollars.
more from economics
