Danish Company Maersk Says Preparing to Resume Container Traffic Through Red Sea
© AP Photo / Michael Sohn
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk said on Sunday that it was preparing to resume shipping through the Red Sea following the launch of multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Earlier in the month, the company said that it had suspended all container traffic through the Red Sea until further notice after the Houthis attacked its container ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Last week, Maersk said that it would reroute all vessels, which previously transited through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope due to security concerns.
"With the OPG initiative in operation, we are preparing to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea, both eastbound and westbound. We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible," the company said in a statement.
24 December 2023, 12:57
After the armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas escalated in October, Yemen's Ansar Allah (known as Houthis) rebel movement, also known as the Houthis, has intensified its attacks on cargo ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, vowing to continue the attacks until Israel ends its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
Last week, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea amid the surge in Houthis' attacks on cargo ships, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission. The Houthis, for their part, vowed to attack any ships that join the US-led maritime coalition.
