On Friday morning, the Singapore-flagged container ship “Maersk Sebarok”, built in 2007, passed the Bab al-Mandab strait and entered the Red Sea.
This is the first passage of a Maersk ship through this strait in almost two years.
The Danish shipping company stated that the “highest possible safety measures” were applied during the passage of the 6,500 TEU unit. The “Maersk Sebarok” is currently deployed in Maersk’s “MECL” service.
According to the shipping company, the passage represents an important step, but does not mean that Maersk is already considering a comprehensive return of the East-West network to the Transsuez route.
“Provided that safety requirements continue to be met, we are considering continuing our phased approach and gradually resuming shipping along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea,” Maersk explained.
The Danish shipping company described the transit as the first step towards a return to this route. A limited number of further Transsuez passages are to follow. However, no concrete departures are currently planned.
