Maersk to persist with Red Sea sailings despite recent attack

(Sharecast News) - Danish shipping giant Maersk said it still intended to sail more than 30 container vessels through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, despite an attack on one of its ships in the region. The company on Sunday paused all Red Sea sailings for 48 hours after Iranian-backed Houthis tried to board its Maersk Hangzhou vessel. In response, US military helicopters were scrambled and 10 militants were killed and their boats sunk.

The Houthi group, which controls parts of Yemen after years of war, in November started attacking international ships traversing the Red Sea, saying it was a response to Israel's assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Major shipping groups, including container giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had last month stopped using Red Sea routes and the Suez Canal, rerouting instead to a longer journey around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope.

But Maersk last week said it was returning to the Red Sea, after the US formed a military coalition to protect vessels.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd on Friday said it had decided to continue diverting its vessels away from Suez and the Red Sea for security reasons.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com