Hapag-Lloyd, the global shipping giant, said that the escort fleet is still unable to guarantee the safety of Red Sea transportation, insisting on detouring the Cape of Good Hope.
On December 27, Hapag-Lloyd said that even if the newly formed Joint Task Force could protect ships from Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Red Sea route would remain dangerous, and would circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope and sail thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea.
Yemen's Houthi rebels control key points between the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and the International Chamber of Shipping has warned that the ship's avoidance of the Suez Canal and its circumnavigation of the Cape of Good Hope at the southwestern tip of Africa meansAs the cost of sailing increases, the number of days of transit increases, and the delivery time is delayed accordingly. Sue Terpilowski, a shipping expert at the Royal Institution of Logistics and Transport, also pointed out in a previous interview that the suspension of the Red Sea route would have a serious impact on inventory levels, costs and the overall dynamics of the ** chain,Increased crew, fuel and insurance costs are likely to be passed on to consumers.
According to CCTV News, on December 26, local time, Yemen's Houthi rebels issued a statement saying that after three warnings to the merchant ship "MSC United" in the Red Sea were refused, the Houthis fired ** missiles at it.
Subsequently, MSC Mediterranean Shipping confirmed that the container ship MSC United VIII was attacked on its way to Pakistan, and there are no reports of ** personnel at present.
Earlier, the United States established a multinational joint escort force to conduct security patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to Red Sea attacks. With that assurance, Maersk, the world's second-largest container shipping company, said last week that it was preparing to resume Red Sea shipping, with French shipping giant CMA CGM announcing a "return to the Red Sea". But at the same time, Maersk also warned that although the Red Sea shipping is about to resume, the overall risk in the sea area has not been eliminated. Industry executives said the return to the Red Sea would be a gradual process, with no large-scale ships expected to return to the Red Sea before the New Year.
According to Maersk's latest ship emergency update, dozens of container ships will be arranged to pass through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the coming weeksFifty-nine ships will continue to pass through the Suez Canal and 95 ships will be diverted to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa
At present, with tensions in the Middle East facing the risk of further escalation, the return to normal of Red Sea shipping faces more uncertainties. Maersk also added that the situation remains uncertain and that the timeline is still subject to change.
On Wednesday, international oil prices fell slightly, and Brent ** fell 064%, still above the $80 mark.
On Wednesday, the main contract of the container transportation index (European line) rose by 20% again.
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