German container shipping group HapagLloyd will decide on Wednesday whether to resume sailing through the Red Sea, a spokesman said, as Maersk prepares to return to the region following U.S.led efforts to prevent attacks .
The world's leading shipping companies, including Maersk and HapagLloyd, have stopped using routes across the Red Sea after the Houthi militant group in Yemen began attacking ships this month and disrupting global trade through the Suez Canal.
With the attacks, the ships were diverted to southern Africa, a journey that was about ten days longer and more expensive. The canal is the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe.
“We will decide tomorrow how to proceed,” said a HapagLloyd spokesman on Tuesday, without providing any further information.
The company said last week it would reroute 25 ships to avoid the area by the end of the year.
Denmarkbased Maersk said on Sunday it was preparing to resume shipping operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, citing the upcoming USled military operation to ensure the security of trade in the region.
Maersk did not immediately respond to requests for comment about when the ships would return to the Suez Canal and what support they had received from the U.S.led naval force.
CMA CGM, another global shipping company, said it had no current information on whether it planned to resume transit through the Red Sea.
In a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, the Francebased group listed 28 of its ships being rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, compared to 22 in an earlier list published last Thursday.
CMA CGM is among container companies that have imposed surcharges due to ship diversion, driving up transportation costs since the Houthis began attacking ships.
A ship traveling off the coast of Yemen reported two explosions in the Red Sea on Tuesday, shortly after two unmanned aircraft were spotted, a British naval official said.
Britain's Maritime Authority said the ship was in contact with coalition forces and reports said the crew was safe and the ship was continuing its journey.
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