Maersk sees Red Sea routings as still too risky

Image: Operation ASPIDES

Maersk is to continue to avoid Red Sea routings of it its ships. In an update today, it said that it would continue to send ships via the Cape of Good Hope and around the Africa rather than through the Houthi-threatened Red Sea and Bab el Mandeb Strait. It noted that while it welcomed the EU ASPIDES security operation as a “very positive development to increase the safety in the region,” its internal analysis, as well as insight received from external sources, “still indicates that the risk level in the region remains elevated.

“We have seen attacks on commercial vessels increase in numbers, including the tragic attack on the vessel True Confidence, which resulted in the death of three crew members, and the sinking of the vessel Rubymar, which is posing a serious environmental risk,” said Maersk. “These incidents unfortunately highlight the lethal effectiveness of missiles currently used by Houthi attackers and are one of the reasons for the elevated security risk we have in place at the moment.

“At Maersk, we are aware that some other shipping lines have continued sailing through the Red Sea despite security risks or have announced their plans to resume sailing. We respect the right of each carrier to make such decisions individually. At the same time, we continue with our own assessment that current situation does not allow us to make a similar decision and we thus still believe that sailing via the Cape of Good Hope and around Africa is the most reasonable solution at the moment and the one that currently allows the best supply chain stability. Network changes are complex and take time to implement and we believe we should only implement such changes when they can be sustained over a longer period of time. We continue to believe it is the only way to avoid further disruption under the current circumstances.”

While the last couple of days have produced no reports of any successful Houthi strikes on ships, the terrorist group has not ceased attempting them with Operation ASPIDES vessels and CENTCOM taking out multiple Houthi missiles and drones.

RED SEA ROUTINGS SAFE FOR RUSSIAN AND CHINESE SHIPS?

Meantime, the Bloomberg news agency reported yesterday that “the Yemen-based Houthis have told China and Russia their ships can sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked” citing “several people with knowledge of the militant group’s discussions,” who said that “China and Russia reached an understanding following talks between their diplomats in Oman and Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis’ top political figures.”

However, the Kremlin reportedly said today that “it is not aware of any security confirmations from the Yemeni Houthi movement regarding the safety of Russian and Chinese cargo ships in the Red Sea.” And Russian news agency TASS, quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jiang as saying:

“The Red Sea is the most important transportation route in terms of trade in goods and energy resources. China calls on all parties concerned to make joint efforts to ensure the safety of navigation in accordance with the law, while sincerely respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states on the shores of the Red Sea.” he said.

The diplomat pointed out that China “will continue to play a constructive role and promote the early restoration of peace and stability in the Red Sea.”

He did not comment on the Bloomberg report.