The Hamburg flag flies in front of Hapag-Lloyd containers on the Hapag-Lloyd container ship “Berlin Express” at Burchardkai in the port of Hamburg.
Marcus Brandt | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Two shipping giants, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk, are suspending their sailings through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Middle East after Iranian-backed Houthi fighters from Yemen carried out a series of attacks on their ships.
Maersk, the world's second-largest container shipping company, moves 14.8% of global trade. It was said to divert ships from the Red Sea. The Houthi group supports the Palestinian militant Hamas and has said it is targeting ships bound for Israel.
In an email to CNBC, a Maersk spokesperson said the Danish company was deeply concerned about the greatly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the region are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety of seafarers, the spokesman added, saying that the safety of employees is the company's top priority.
“Following the near miss with Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and another attack on a container ship today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area scheduled to transit the Bab al-Mandab Strait to suspend their sailing until further notice.” said the representative said.
Maersk said it would release further details on possible next steps in the coming days.
Hapag-Lloyd, which controls about 7% of the world's container ship fleet, told CNBC in an email that it will “suspend all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday. Then we will decide on the period after that.”
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait lies between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. It connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, which flow into the Indian Ocean. This waterway is used by container ships and the export of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.
Approximately 12% of global trade, including 30% of all global containers, passes through the Suez Canal. This then feeds through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb. The importance of the Suez Canal came into the spotlight in March 2021 when the container ship Ever Given became stuck for six days.
A boat from the Lower Saxony water police drives along in front of the container ship “Morten Maersk” of the Danish shipping company Maersk Line, which is moored to a quay wall at the JadeWeserPort container terminal.
Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Israel-based shipping company ZIM has rerouted ships to avoid the Arabian Sea and Red Sea to protect its ships and crew from Houthis threats. The ships are traveling around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. This alternative route to the Indian Ocean adds 10 to 14 days to a ship's travel time. The long journey around Africa also incurs higher fuel costs due to the longer travel distance.
There have been seven incidents since Houthi militants threatened on Saturday to attack any ships that have ownership ties to Israel or do business in the country. A total of 13 ships have been attacked since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October.
In response to Friday's attacks, in which three ships were attacked, the World Shipping Council said it was deeply disturbed and concerned by the escalating crisis and called for decisive action to protect seafarers.
“The right to freedom of navigation is a fundamental right of international law and must be protected,” the council said. “The time for decisive international engagement is now.”
The U.S. government has been in talks with countries from the 39 members of the Combined Maritime Forces to form a maritime task force to “ensure the safe passage” of ships in the Red Sea.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees America's military interests in the Middle East, told CNBC that talks are ongoing.