A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has safely sailed another ship through the southern part of the Red Sea, its second successful attempt after most shipping lines have avoided the area for two years.
The voyage marks another step toward normalization of global supply lines, after Yemen-based Houthis in 2023 began attacking vessels, forcing shipowners to sail south of Africa. Maersk said it will now continue to “gradually” resume transits as the security situation seems to approve.
The Maersk Denver, a US-flagged container vessel, on Jan. 11-12 successfully transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and into the Red Sea, Copenhagen-based Maersk said in a statement late Monday. Maersk had made “necessary safety measures” during the transit, it said, without providing details.
While a gradual opening of one of the world’s busiest transport bottlenecks bodes well for the supply lines, it will presumable pressure profit margins in the shipping industry. Maersk and other container lines have benefited from the extra transport time needed to sail south of Africa, which effectively has reduced global vessel capacity by 7-8% at a time when there’s fierce competition among shipowners for cargo.
Maersk had made the first safe transit in December. In Monday’s statement the company said that it had “no additional sailings to announce at this time” for the area. Still, “assuming that security thresholds continue to be met, we will continue our stepwise approach,” the company said.
