Maersk pauses sailings through Red Sea again after new attack

A.P. Moller-Maersk said Dec. 31 it has suspended its vessels transiting the Red Sea for 48 hours after one of its container ships was attacked by Houthi militants following the resumption of its services through the chokepoint.

US Central Command confirmed Dec. 31 it attended a distress call from the Maersk Hangzhou container vessel after it came under attack in the southern Red Sea from four small boats launched from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni coast. Maersk confirmed the attack occurred on the evening of Dec. 30, 55 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Hodeidah port.

"In light of the incident -- and to allow time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further -- it has been decided to delay all transits through the area for the next 48 hours," Maersk said in a statement sent to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou has capacity for 14,000 containers and is used on the route between Asia and Europe. The company said the vessel had passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait en-route from Singapore to Port Suez, Egypt, when it was struck by an object then attacked by small boats. Maersk had said Dec. 24 it would resume vessel transits via the Red Sea following a 10-day halt due to previous attacks.

A number of shipping companies have said they would avoid, either entirely or as far as possible, transit through the Red Sea after Houthi militants, supported by Iran, announced their intention to join the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, attacking dozens of vessels passing through the Red Sea in recent weeks.

Despite attacks disrupting shipping in a key chokepoint for global oil trade and container traffic, bunker prices ended 2023 by shrugging off concerns.

The Platts Bunkerworld 0.5% sulfur fuel oil index ended the week at $616/mt, down $5/mt on the day, down $5/m week on week and $19/mt lower month on month. The BW380 index, which represents value for 3.5%S fuel oil, ended the week at $502/mt, down $4/mt on the day, down $3/mt week on week and down $10/mt month on month.

Oil markets also brushed off concerns over possible disruptions in the Red Sea continuing into 2024. Platts, part of S&P Global, assessed Dated Brent at $77.585/b Dec. 29, down 1.94% on the day.