Hapag-Lloyd continues to avoid the Middle East sea area
Due to the uncertain situation in the Red Sea, Germany's largest container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is continuing to avoid the Middle East. The crisis committee met on Friday and decided that the ships will continue to be diverted, a company spokesperson explained on request.
A new assessment is to be carried out on January 2. Further decisions would then be made. The Hamburg-based company had recently announced that around 25 ships planned for the Red Sea and the Suez Canal would be diverted via the Cape of Good Hope on the coast of South Africa by the end of the year. In the meantime, competing shipping companies began preparing to return to the routes.
In Yemen, the Huthi rebels declared their solidarity with the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip and repeatedly attacked ships off the coast under their control. On December 15, a Hapag-Lloyd ship was also attacked. The world's fifth-largest container shipping company has announced surcharges for transportation on its ships to and from the Middle East.
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- Despite the ongoing unsafe conditions in the Red Sea, other competing shipping companies are starting to prepare for a return to the affected routes.
- The lake area near the East Sea, unfortunately, might not be an alternative for Hapag-Lloyd, as they continue to steer clear of the Middle East due to the crisis.
- Hapag-Lloyd's decision to divert ships away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal has resulted in additional costs, forcing the company to introduce surcharges for transportation to and from the Middle East.
- The Huthi rebels' repeated attacks on ships off the Yemeni coast have further elevated the sense of danger in the Red Sea, compounding Hapag-Lloyd's concerns about operating in the region.
Source: www.ntv.de
