Maersk: The Red Sea crisis caused the route to lose nearly 20% of its effective capacity

Since November last year, the Houthis have been attacking passing merchant ships in the Red Sea, causing increasing problems.

On May 6, Danish shipping group Maersk wrote in its latest report to clients: “The impact of the situation in the Red Sea is expanding and continues to cause chaos throughout the industry.

Maersk and many other shipping companies have halted Red Sea to Suez Canal transits since late last year due to unrest and repeated drone and missile attacks on cargo ships.

But according to Maersk, the Red Sea crisis has become more serious and complex over the past few months.

Maersk said: “The risk area has expanded and attacks are spreading further offshore. This is forcing our ships to further extend their voyages, resulting in additional time and costs for your cargo to temporarily reach its destination.”

Maersk said the impact of the crisis included bottlenecks, vessel congestion, delays and shortages of equipment and containers.

Maersk said: “We estimate that in the second quarter, the industry will lose 15-20% of capacity from the Far East to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean market”