Maersk: We expect shipping crisis in the Red Sea to continue until at least the end of 2024

Maersk Shipping Group said on Monday that the crisis in container shipping traffic in the Red Sea is expected to reduce the capacity of the sector between the Far East and Europe by between 15 and 20 percent in the second quarter of the year.

According to Reuters, Maersk and its competitors have diverted ships to the Cape of Good Hope route around Africa since December to avoid attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group on ships in the Red Sea, which has led to higher shipping prices due to longer sailing times.

The company, seen as a barometer of global trade, said last week that the shipping crisis caused by the attacks was expected to last until at least the end of the year.

“The danger zone has expanded, and attacks reach farther out to sea,” Maersk said in an advisory note to clients on Monday.

“This forced our ships to extend their journeys further, which led to increased time and costs to deliver goods to their destination at the present time,” she added.

The crisis has caused bottlenecks and a so-called ship backlog, with several ships arriving at the port at the same time, in addition to a lack of equipment and capacity.

“We are doing our best to enhance confidence by sailing faster and increasing capacity,” Maersk said, adding that it has so far rented more than 125,000 additional containers.

She continued, “We have increased our capacity as much as possible, in line with the needs of our customers.”