Skip to main content

Maersk says impact from Red Sea attacks continues to intensify

1 min Mena Today

The negative impact on maritime shipping and global supply chains from attacks in the Red Sea continues to intensify as traffic is rerouted away from the Suez Canal, Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday.

Attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a route vital to east-west trade © Mena Today 

Attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a route vital to east-west trade © Mena Today 

The negative impact on maritime shipping and global supply chains from attacks in the Red Sea continues to intensify as traffic is rerouted away from the Suez Canal, Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday.

Attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a route vital to east-west trade, with prolonged rerouting of shipments, pushing freight rates higher and causing congestion in Asian and European ports.

Maersk said recent data showed that the number of ships crossing through the canal has fallen 66% since carriers began diverting their vessels around Africa. Maersk did not elaborate on the data.

"These disruptions have led to service reconfigurations and volume shifts, straining infrastructure and resulting in port congestion, delays, and shortages in capacity and equipment," it added.

Maersk in July said disruption to its container shipping via the Red Sea had extended beyond trade routes between the Far East and Europe to its entire global network, and warned of a "cascading impact" causing congestion.

"The timeline for easing these disruptions and returning to 'normal' remains uncertain," it said on Thursday.

It added that demand for container shipping remains robust.

Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Stine Jacobsen

Related

Saudi Arabia

Aramco pulls staff out of Dhahran as Saudi-Houthi clashes escalate

Saudi state oil company Aramco has ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran, six people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensifies.

Saudi Arabia

Attack on Dammam airport leaves two dead, eight wounded

Two people were killed and eight injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia's eastern oil hub of Dammam on Wednesday evening, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.

Israel

Whoever wins in Israel, the Iran war policy stays

Israel's election next week may change its leader, but not its strategy: Iran will remain its chief adversary, military force will continue to be its preferred tool and Palestinian statehood a distant prospect, regional policymakers and analysts say.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.