COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Maersk hopes international interventions and a larger naval presence in the Red Sea will eventually lead to maritime commerce to resume through the strait, it said on Friday, following U.S-British strikes overnight against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
“We hope that these interventions and a larger naval presence will eventually lead to a lowered threat environment allowing maritime commerce to transit through the Red Sea and once again return to using the Suez Canal as a gateway,” Maersk said in an emailed statement.
Shipping companies have redirected vessels away from the Red Sea around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope after Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen stepped up attacks on vessels in the Gulf region to show their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)
