Danish shipping giant Maersk posted a huge drop in net profit for the first quarter on Thursday as Yemeni rebel attacks force it to avoid the vital Red Sea route.Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the country’s Red Sea coast, have launched dozens of attacks on ships since November, claiming solidarity with Palestinians caught up in the Israel-Hamas war.
The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from the attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.
Maersk and other shipping groups have instead chosen to send their fleets around the Cape of Good Hope, which takes about two weeks longer, incurring additional costs.
According to the International Maritime Organization, 60 percent of the container transport that previously passed through the Suez Canal now passes south of Africa.
The Danish group said the alternate route led to a seven percent increase in its first quarter operating costs compared to the corresponding period last year.
In its maritime shipping unit, Maersk’s main business, loaded volumes increased during the quarter by 7.5 percent, led by higher demand primarily on Asia-Europe, North America and Asia routes.
The average loaded freight rate decreased by 18 percent year-on-year, but increased by 23 percent from the previous quarter, driven by the situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Maersk said efforts to reorganise its traffic have enabled it to cope with the situation and improve the use of its ships to 95 percent even though “reliability suffered”.
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