In an update to
customers Maersk said :“To
safeguard our crew, vessels, and your cargo, we are rerouting around the Cape
of Good Hope for the foreseeable future. However, the risk zone has expanded,
and attacks are reaching further offshore,” Maersk said.
“The
knock-on effects of the situation have included bottlenecks and vessel
bunching, as well as delays and equipment and capacity shortages. We estimate an industry wide
capacity loss of 15-20% on the Far East to North Europe and Mediterranean
market during Q2,” Maersk said.
Given the shortage of equipment
the company has so far leased an additional 125,000 containers. The threat must
be taken seriously because of Houthi‘s weapons range.
Of the top tier lines only CMA CGM is transiting the Red Sea on
selected voyages where it assesses
the risk on a vessel-by-vessel basis. The French line has made four Red Sea transits
since the beginning of April according to Linerlytica.