Shipping giant: Red Sea route disruptions will last until autumn
Sunny Worldwide Logistics is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, specializing in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Southeast Asia and other markets. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
According to Reuters, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc predicted that the third quarter of this year will continue to be profoundly affected by the ongoing unrest in the Red Sea region. He said frankly: "The longer this crisis lasts, the operating cost pressure on shipping companies will become heavier." Ke Wensheng further pointed out that due to the Houthi armed forces' attacks on merchant ships, carriers had to choose to bypass Africa instead of using The more efficient Suez Canal route will undoubtedly increase transportation costs and time.
He emphasized: "It is still unclear how much additional cost we can recover and how long the recovery period will be. The higher freight rates currently faced are only a temporary phenomenon in this complex situation."
Maersk said it expects there will be vessel types that are inconsistent with Maersk's regular operations or a lack of vessels on specific routes, adding that this will reduce the company's ability to meet current global transportation needs.
On the LinkedIn platform, Ke Wensheng shared the contents of a recent meeting he held with customers on global supply chain disruptions. He revealed: “We comprehensively explored a range of topics from capacity constraints and transport predictability to long-term strategic planning. The tension in the Red Sea region has undoubtedly put great pressure on our customers, and this pressure is multi-faceted. Result of joint action."
He reiterated the importance of safety: "Safety is always our top priority. Only when our crews, ships and cargo are in a safe condition will we consider resuming normal navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden." "
The pandemic provides resilience
Ke Wensheng elaborated in depth in his post that in the face of the Red Sea crisis, the lessons learned during the epidemic are invaluable in building response capabilities. Maersk's CEO firmly stated that the company is ready to develop in the container shipping field, aiming to create "maximum shipping capacity" and is actively "redeploying strategic ships to ensure a more balanced and extensive coverage of the service network.".
Since the Houthi armed forces launched attacks on international merchant ships at the end of 2023, this incident has forced many shipping companies to adjust their routes and choose to bypass the area south of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, thus triggering a sharp increase in container shipping demand.
This route adjustment strategy directly affects the overall capacity allocation of the container fleet, not only pushing up freight levels, but also exacerbating shippers' concerns and tensions about the stability of the supply chain.
"Although we have launched several new ships this year to expand our shipping capacity, we are clearly aware that this is only one of the medium and long-term strategies to solve the current challenges." Maersk CEO added, emphasizing the company's efforts to deal with complex Strategic vision and long-term planning in the shipping environment.
