Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat
A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.
Global shipping giant Maersk said on Friday that one of its vessels had successfully traversed the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb for the first time in two years, as the vital trading route becomes safer following a halt in attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
What happened: Copenhagen-headquartered Maersk said in a statement that the Singapore-flagged vessel Maersk Sebarok transited the Red Sea route on Thursday and Friday.
“Whilst this is a significant step forward, it does not mean that we are at a point where we are considering a wider East-West network change back to the trans-Suez corridor,“ Maesk, the world's second largest container shipping company, announced.
Maersk said it was considering whether to continue a "stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation" via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It did not offer a timeline.
