Suddenly in the early morning! Following Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and CMA CGM also announced the suspension of Red Sea traffic! Suez Canal faces virtual shutdown
Following Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd's announcement yesterday that all their ships would stop transiting the Red Sea, MSC, the world's largest container liner company, and France's CMA CGM, the world's third largest container liner company, also officially announced that they would stop all their ships transiting the Red Sea!
In just 48 hours, 4 of the world's five largest container liner companies (with a combined shipping capacity exceeding 54% of the world's total shipping capacity) have officially announced a complete suspension of traffic through the Red Sea. With more shipping companies in the next two days, Following up, the Suez Canal, the world's largest shipping artery, is about to enter a "de facto shutdown"!
The latest BBC report stated that the world's largest shipping group, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), announced that it will reroute ships from the Red Sea due to the increased threat of attacks.
A day after Danish shipping giant Maersk and German transport company Hapag-Lloyd suspended Red Sea itineraries, France's CMA CGM took similar measures.
The decision comes after attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Although the Houthis have previously claimed that their targets are only ships related to Israel or heading to Israel. However, the fact that many container ships said to have nothing to do with Israel, such as the "NUMBER 9" owned by Orient Overseas and the MAERSK GIBRALTAR owned by Maersk, were attacked prove that this may not be the case!
The Red Sea is one of the world's most important oil and fuel transportation routes. The Houthis have been stepping up their attacks recently, frequently using drones and rockets to attack foreign ships.
In its announcement on the suspension of sailings in the Red Sea, MSC stated that the situation in the region has become "very serious"!
The company said its container ship MSC PALATIUM III was attacked on Friday while transiting the Red Sea. The crew was not injured, but the vessel was taken out of service. The remaining ships are being rerouted through the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
CMA CGM, the world's third-largest shipping company, said in a statement that it had instructed all its container ships there to "arrive in safe areas and immediately suspend sailings in unsafe waters until further notice."
Maersk, the world's second-largest shipping company, called the situation "worrying."
Maersk told the BBC on Friday: "Following the attempted attack on the Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and another attack on a container ship today, we have instructed all Maersk ships in the region preparing to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to suspend sailings. Until further notice.”
After the giants enacted a collective ban on sailings in the Red Sea, Sue Tepilovski of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport told the BBC: "It's a matter of safety of the crew, the ship itself and the insurance policy. If they can get insurance, now Premiums will be ridiculously high, so this will have a serious impact on inventory levels, costs and overall supply chain dynamics."
BBC business correspondent Vivienne Nunis said increased crew, fuel and insurance costs are likely to be passed on to consumers.
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