A.P. Moller – Maersk, the Danish global shipping giant, warned of the persistent chaos and unrest in the Red Sea, which has been disrupting shipping activity for months.
The company, which is the world’s second largest container shipping line operator, based in Copenhagen, issued a statement on Friday, stating that 15 container shipping line routes between Asia and Europe were affected, as well as the route from the US east coast to the Middle East.
The Houthi group in Yemen, also known as Ansar Allah, declared that it would not allow any ship affiliated with Israel to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which Yemen borders. The group said it would target any Israeli ships with drones as retaliation for the Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Yahya Sarea, the military spokesperson for the group, said that the group “will continue its operations against the Zionist entity until it stops its aggression against Gaza.”
Ships that want to reach Egypt’s Suez Canal to cross the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea have to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which shortens the travel time between Asia and Europe. Avoiding this passage means sailing thousands of miles around Africa.
More than 150 tankers, which were scheduled for port services in Singapore, Rotterdam, Texas, and along the US east coast, have had to change their arrival dates, and some have been postponed until next March.
The US and other European powers announced the formation of a naval force to protect the international trade in the Red Sea from the Houthi attacks. The Yemeni group warned Saudi Arabia and the UAE that it would target their oil facilities if they joined this coalition.
