Maersk pauses sailings through Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, citing escalating conflict

Danish container shipping group Maersk b will pause sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal and reroute ships around the Cape of Good Hope, it said on Sunday, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

“Due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East region following the escalating military conflict, we have decided…to pause future Trans-Suez sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the time being,” Maersk said in a statement.

Maersk had said on Friday it would temporarily reroute some sailings around Africa, away from the Suez Canal, citing unforeseen constraints in the Red Sea region.

The company last month announced a gradual return of some services to the Suez route, seen as a key step towards ending two years of global trade disruption caused by attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take all needed actions,” the company said.

“Once the situation stabilises and the security conditions again permit, we will continue to prioritise the Trans-Suez route,” Maersk added, commenting on its Middle East-India to Mediterranean and Middle East-India to East Coast U.S. services.

Maersk also said it was suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice, adding that services calling ports in the Arabian Gulf may experience delays, rerouting, or schedule adjustments.

The shipping giant added it was still accepting cargo to the Middle East. Meanwhile, Mediterranean Shipping Company said in a separate statement on Sunday it was suspending all cargo bookings to the Middle East until further notice. MSC said it had instructed all vessels currently operating in the Gulf region as well as those en route to the area to proceed to safe shelter areas until further notice.

It said it was closely monitoring developments and that the bookings will resume as soon as the security situation improves.

CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping line, on Saturday said it had told its vessels inside or headed for the Gulf to proceed to shelter after the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. It also announced it was suspending sailings through the Suez Canal.