Red Sea traffic comes to a halt for many seeking naval assistance

Shipping is in crisis with its two most famous canals crippled, one by the climate crisis and the other by war.

Maersk and other containerlines said they are putting all ships on hold from transiting through the Red Sea after vessels have been attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, who have entered the war Israel is waging in the Gaza Strip. 

“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice,” Maersk stated.

“Hapag-Lloyd is pausing all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday. Then we will decide for the period thereafter,” a spokesperson for Germany’s top carrier told Splash on Friday evening.

There is widespread speculation that the US is very close to forming a multinational coalition to chaperone merchant ships through the southern Red Sea where the Houthis have attacked more than 10 ships over the past month. 

Over in the western hemisphere, meanwhile, the volume of ships willing to wait for the severely restricted Panama Canal has plummeted in recent weeks. Drought has forced the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to slash transits leading to a huge migration of ships transiting via other longer routes, something that is now about to play out in a large way at the Suez.