MSC also stated that all crew members are safe and there have been no reports of casualties, and a comprehensive evaluation of the ship is being conducted. “Our primary task remains to protect the lives and safety of sailors, and until their safety is guaranteed, MSC will continue to divert ships scheduled to pass through the Suez Canal to Cape of Good Hope.”Resumption failedOn Tuesday, the Husai militants claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming that it was carried out after the crew ignored multiple warnings and vowed to continue attacking Israeli ships and ships bound for Israel.The situation in the Red Sea is unstable, and the shipping companies preparing to resume operations continue to detourOn December 25th, Maersk announced plans to resume its east-west route through the Red Sea, and DaFei also announced plans to gradually resume its Suez Canal route. At the same time, a large container ship from COSCO was tracked to change course and sail towards the Red Sea. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for German shipping company Herbert Roth stated that a decision on whether to resume the Red Sea route would be made on Wednesday.But the latest attack on Mediterranean shipping (MSC) vessels by the House armed forces may add pressure to shipping companies attempting to restore the Red Sea route. MSC subsequently stated that the ships originally intended to pass through the Suez Canal would continue to detour the Cape of Good Hope.In addition to MSC, Herbert stated in the latest update notice on the website on the 27th that due to the recent situation in the Red Sea, he had to immediately decide to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea and continue to detour the Cape of Good Hope. Simultaneously, continuously monitor and update the schedule of the final departure port of the vessel to determine whether to transit through the Suez Canal or bypass the Cape of Good Hope based on accurate information.On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Herbert also stated that the company still believes that the current situation is too dangerous to pass through the Suez Canal and will continue to divert to the Cape of Good Hope. The spokesperson said, “We continuously evaluate the situation and plan to conduct the next review on Friday.”On the 27th, Maersk’s official website also issued a notice on the update of ship emergency situations. It stated that in order to help customers plan their supply chain as effectively as possible in the current situation in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, understand the affected ship’s diversion and emergency plans, Maersk has released the latest ship itinerary plan. At the same time, it stated that once further emergency information and diversion plans are available, they will be continuously updated.According to the information released, Maersk plans to have dozens of container ships passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the coming days and weeks, but the notice shows that many of its ships still plan to detour through Africa.Sources said that Maersk had a total of 10 ships in the first batch to resume the Red Sea route.Two Maersk vessels, the 18270 TEU Maren Maersk and the 18000 TEU Mette Maersk, are sailing towards the Suez Canal in the Mediterranean and Arabian Seas, with expected arrival dates of December 28th and January 2nd, respectively.After the second heading adjustment on December 26th, COSCO Shipping Kilimanjaro seems to be heading towards the Red Sea. The AIS destination of the ship is set to Jeddah Port in Saudi Arabia.Since December 19th, Maersk has diverted its ships around Africa via Cape of Good Hope to avoid attacks, charged additional fees to customers, and increased the transportation time of goods from Asia to the east coast of Europe and North America by several weeks.On December 22nd, the company announced that it will charge an additional $700 for 20 foot standard containers from China to Nordic countries, including a $200 transportation interruption surcharge and a $500 peak season surcharge.The transportation interruption fee was collected last week and takes effect immediately, while the peak season surcharge takes effect from January 1st. It is currently unclear how the decision to restart some Red Sea transportation will affect additional fees.When asked about its vessel schedule, the company refused to comment further. A Maersk spokesperson said in a statement, “At present, we are unable to disclose any further information other than what has already been shared.”
