EMEA News
Maersk Boxship Conducts Second Red Sea Transit
A container ship operated by A.P. Moller-Maersk has completed its transit through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, marking the second such recent voyage and a sign of a gradual return to Suez Canal transits.
The US-flagged ship, Maersk Denver, carried out the sailing on January 11-12, the company said in an advisory note on its website on Monday.
This was part of the company’s assessment of resuming navigation via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
The company added that no further sailings have been announced at this stage.
“Assuming that security thresholds continue to be met, we will continue our stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea,” it said in the note.
Last month, its 6,500-TEU container ship Maersk Sebarok also transited the Red Sea on a voyage to the US.
Major shipping lines have largely stayed away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal for the past two years after a series of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group, instead rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
This has delivered a significant boost to global bunker demand, an effect that is likely to be diminished as Suez transits become more widespread.
