Some shipping firms set to resume Suez Canal transit after recent pause
Container giants CMA CGM and Maersk have announced plans to resume vessel transits through the Suez Canal. 
PHOTO: Freighter makes headway towards the Red Sea port of Aqaba, Jordan with the Sinai Desert behind. Getty Images
French shipping firm CMA CGM announced yesterday that it is devising plans to “gradually increase” the number of its vessels transiting through the Suez Canal. This announcement comes shortly after Denmark’s A.P. Møller – Mærsk (Maersk), announced on Monday that it is preparing its vessels to resume their transit via the Suez Canal in both eastbound and westbound directions.
Several shipping firms have rerouted their vessels or halted operations in the Red Sea after a recent spate of attacks on merchant ships by Yemeni militants Houthis.
The crisis led to the disruption of global trade through the Suez Canal, which is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe. But shipping firms are currently evaluating the safety of returning to the route, now that a multinational force has been deployed by the US to subdue the Houthi threat and guarantee the safe passage of ships.
Some of the CMA CGM and Maersk container ships transiting the region have reportedly been escorted by French and US warships in recent days.
The decision to allow ships to transit through the crisis-stricken region is based “on an in-depth evaluation of the security landscape,” CMA CGM added.
Meanwhile, German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd is expected to come up with a decision soon regarding whether it will resume journeys through the region, according to Reuters.
Maritime agency the United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) also reported a new incident of missile strike around 60 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Al-Hudayah yesterday. These attacks highlight a persistent threat to commercial shipping, leading to disruptions and financial losses in global trade.
By Tuhin Roy
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