The carrier Maersk refused to transit through the Red Sea until September

The world’s largest sea container carrier, the Danish company Maersk, does not intend to resume the transit of ships in the Red Sea in the near future. The president of the company’s branch in North America, Charles van der Steen, told the TV channel CNBCthat the desirable option for the company would be to refrain from routes on the Red Sea also in the second and third quarters of 2024.

“Unfortunately, we do not see any changes in the Red Sea in the near future. <...> Customers will need to ensure that longer delivery times are built into their supply chain,” said Charles van der Steen.

CNBC notes that the company is currently operating logistics routes around the Cape of Good Hope, avoiding hazardous areas in the Red Sea. Due to the longer route, ships carrying imported goods from the US are delayed, disrupting the supply chain. According to van der Steen, American companies are better off maintaining flexibility in their routes rather than putting ships at risk.

Maersk announced the suspension of flights through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on January 5, after two of the company’s ships were attacked by Yemen’s Houthis. On January 24, its subsidiary, Maersk Line, Limited, made a similar announcement.

On February 8, Maersk published its financial results for 2023. It said that “the crisis in the Red Sea immediately led to an overload of available shipping capacity and a temporary increase in prices for services.” In addition, due to problems with transportation in the Red Sea, the company canceled the next, fifth stage of the buyback of its shares – for $1.6 billion. After the publication of the annual report and the cancellation of the next stage of buyback, Maersk shares fell in price by 15.2 on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. %.

Read more about the situation in the Red Sea in the Kommersant article. “The US encroached on the Houthis”.