Two of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have announced that they will not immediately resume operations in the Red Sea despite the recent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Both companies stated that they are closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and will only resume passage through the region once it is deemed safe.
A Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson noted, “The agreement has only just been reached. We will closely analyse the latest developments and their impact on the security situation in the Red Sea.”
Similarly, a Maersk spokesperson remarked, “It is still too early to speculate about timing.”
In June, Hapag-Lloyd had warned that a ceasefire alone would not guarantee the safety of Red Sea routes, citing the potential for continued attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants.
Rearranging schedules to resume navigation through the Suez Canal would require four to six weeks, a company spokesperson said at the time.
Instability in the Middle East has forced shipping companies to redirect their vessels along longer routes, often bypassing the Suez Canal and instead navigating around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. This has increased freight costs and disrupted global shipping networks, exacerbating delays and economic pressures on the supply chain.
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