Danish Maersk alters maritime route to avoid Red Sea

Shafaq News / The Danish shipping group, Maersk, announced on Friday the redirection of its maritime route, the "M.E.C.L." line, between India and the U.S. East Coast.

In a statement reported by Western media outlets, the company stated that ships "passing through ports in the Middle East (via this route) will no longer traverse the Red Sea but will sail around the Cape of Good Hope."

Two days ago, Maersk informed its clients that it was redirecting its container service, the "M.E.2", away from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the Cape of Good Hope.

The "M.E.2" service connects Italy and the western Mediterranean with the western coast of India.

On January 19th, the company announced a temporary suspension of reservations to Djibouti from Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and East and South Africa within the shipping service provided under the name Blue Nile Express.

Maersk clarified, "The situation in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden and surrounding areas remains volatile, and all available intelligence indicates that the security risks remain at an extremely high level."

Maersk stated that its Blue Nile Express service would immediately omit Djibouti, Jeddah, and the King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia.

Maersk stated that it does not anticipate any impact on capacity. Maersk had hoped that international intervention and broader maritime presence in the Red Sea would ultimately lead to the resumption of commercial maritime navigation through the strait, utilizing the Suez Canal as a passage once again.

Shipping companies have altered the routes of their vessels away from the Red Sea to take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, following intensified attacks by Houthi militias allied with Iran on ships in the region.