The Danish international shipping company Maersk plans to resume the movement of its container ships from Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal in the near future. In recent months, the sea route has come under attack from Houthi rebels.
Maersk announced on Sunday that it will resume shipping along the Red Sea in the near future. The reason for the company’s decisions is a new initiative by the United States and Washington’s allies to patrol the sea route to protect civilian ships from terrorist attacks.
The United States announced the creation of the initiative last week. The official name of the initiative is Operation Prosperity Guardian. The Red Sea and the Suez Canal are one of the most important shipping routes in the world, carrying 10 to 12 percent of the world’s trade volumes.
The reason for the operation is attacks on civilian ships by Houthi rebels operating in Yemen. Houthi rebels said they attacked Israel-linked ships, but they also came under attack on ships not carrying goods to or from Israel.
“As Operation Íitsengu Kaitsja is about to begin, we are preparing to restore vessel transit through the Red Sea to both the east and west,” Maersk said in a press release.
The company added that it is working on plans to move the first ships by sea as soon as operationally possible. However, the company warned that, depending on the degree of risk, it may also reverse the decision.
On Saturday, Iran attacked a cargo ship that the United States said was traveling 200 nautical miles off the coast of India. It is the first attack by Iran since Houthi rebels began their attacks.
2023-12-25 12:43:00
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