Maersk to return to Red Sea as stability improves in region

The opening of one of the world’s busiest transport bottlenecks is set to pressure profit margins amid an oversupply of vessels

Danish shipping company Maersk will return to sailing regularly through the Suez Canal this month, as the security situation improves in the Middle East.

The voyage marks another step towards normalisation of global supply lines, after Yemen-based Houthis began attacking vessels in 2023, forcing shipowners to sail the south of Africa.

While a gradual opening of one of the world’s busiest transport bottlenecks bodes well for shipping companies, it is set to pressure profit margins in the industry amid an oversupply of vessels.

Maersk made the first safe transit in December, followed by another sailing earlier in January.

The Copenhagen-based company says that the change applies to the MECL service solely operated by Maersk, which connects the Middle East and India with the US East Coast.

The change comes into effect with Cornelia Maersk departing Salalah, Oman, on Jan 26, the company said on Thursday (Jan 15).

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Maersk and other container lines have benefited from the extra transport time needed to sail south of Africa. This has effectively reduced global vessel capacity by 7 to 8 per cent, at a time when there is fierce competition among shipowners for cargo.

Maersk shares fell as much as 7.3 per cent, the most in two months, and were down 6.4 per cent as at 2.05 pm in Copenhagen. BLOOMBERG

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