DUBAI (Reuters) -Shipping company Maersk will take steps to resume navigation through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal as soon as conditions allow, CEO Vincent Clerc said on Tuesday.
Maersk began diverting vessels away from the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea towards the southern tip of Africa in January 2024 after an attack on one of its ships by Yemen’s Houthi militants, who attacked ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The company has been encouraged by the peace process in Gaza, which would establish freedom of navigation in the Bab al-Mandab strait that links the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, Clerc added in a joint press conference with Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie in Egypt.
“Given the significant progress in both Gaza and Bab al-Mandab, Maersk will take steps to resume navigation around the East West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and normalise transit over time,” Clerc said.
Maersk will resume navigating via the Red Sea “as soon as conditions allow, with the safety of our crew as a top priority”, Clerc added.
The Suez Canal Authority and Maersk signed a strategic partnership agreement during the press conference.
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Ahmed ElimamEditing by David Goodman)
