Danish shipping company Maersk, which controls about 14.8% of the world’s total container trade, said on Friday that it is pausing all journeys in the Red Sea due to attacks on its ships bound for Israel.
“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice,” the company said in a statement.
According to Hebrew economic newspaper Globes, Maersk’s decision is of great importance to trade with Europe and Israel, because circling Africa — rather than sailing through the Suez Canal — adds about 18 days to the length of supply chains.
The paper noted that the company had announced in a previous statement that as of January 8, additional costs would be imposed on shipments to Israel.
It explained that the price increase would be $50 for 20-foot containers, and $100 for 40- and 45-foot containers.
It is worth noting that Sanaa forces announced that they would target all ships related to, heading to, or coming from the Zionist occupation entity in response to the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the enemy’s refusal to bring food, water, and medicine into the Strip.
