Maersk Makes First Red Sea Transit Since December 2023

Maersk confirmed that one of its smaller containerships has successfully completed the company’s first transit through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb in two years. The company is calling it a trial, and it comes after the Suez Canal Authority had been strongly lobbying for the return to the route.

The Maersk Sebarok (108,215 dwt) completed the transit between December 18 and 19. The vessel, which is owned by Maersk and registered in Singapore, was built in 2007 and has a nominal capacity of 6,648 TEU. The ship is deployed on a route between the U.S. East and Gulf Coast to India with stops at Port Tangier and in Saudi Arabia.

The company emphasized that the “highest possible safety measures were applied during the transit.” The vessel’s AIS signal shows it bound for the United States.

“Assuming that security thresholds continue to be met, we are considering continuing our stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. The first step is this initial sailing, followed by a limited number of additional trans-Suez sailings. However, there are no planned sailings currently,” Maesk said in its statement.

The Suez Canal Authority had announced in late November that Maersk would be resuming transits as the first step to a restoration of service in the region. They hailed the decision, but Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc sounded more cautious with reports saying they would return “when conditions allowed.” Security has remained a key concern, and some shipping companies cited the high costs of insurance for operations in the region.

Maersk had reported it was reviewing the regional situation after the Maersk Gibraltar had a near-miss incident on December 14, 2023, in the area of the Bab al-Mandeb. Two weeks later, the company said its vessel Maersk Hangzhou was among the first to go through the Red Sea again after the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched. The vessel, however, was hit by an unknown object, and then reported four boats approached, opening fire in an attempt to board the ship. The U.S. Navy destroyed several Houthi boats conducting the attack, while Maersk immediately suspended all transits. On January 7, 2024, the company confirmed that “all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.”

CMA CGM was the only large carrier to continue limited transits, made when they were protected by vessels from EUNAVFOR’s Operation Aspides. Recently, CMA CGM has made additional test transits of the Suez Canal and is planning to restore its first route through the Red Sea in January.

Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at the industry trade group BIMCO, had commented this week that, “The return to normal Red Sea and Suez Canal routings in the not-too-distant future.” He predicted that the shorter transit times would release capacity back into the industry, saying that it would result in a 10 percent reduction in ship demand.

Top photo by Tvabutzku1234 (Public domain)