Denmark’s Maersk still plans to sail more than 30 container vessels through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the time ahead despite a weekend attack on one of its ships in the area, a company schedule released late on Monday showed.

But Maersk also put on hold plans for some vessels to use the Red Sea route amid continued risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi fighters, saying it would announce the itinerary for each ship at a later time.

Maersk on Sunday paused all Red Sea sailings for 48 hours following attempts by the Iranian-backed Houthis to board its Maersk Hangzhou vessel, although US military helicopters ultimately repelled the attack and killed 10 fighters.

Major shipping groups, including container giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had last month stopped using Red Sea routes and the Suez Canal, rerouting instead to a longer journey around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. But Maersk on Dec 24 said it was preparing a return to the Red Sea, citing the deployment of a US-led military operation to protect vessels.

The company has said that its top priority is the safety of crew, vessels and cargo, and that plans are updated “on a vessel-by-vessel basis”, with some set to travel via Suez and others taking the longer route around Africa.

Opinion

Editorial

Controversial timing
05 Oct, 2024

Controversial timing

A WRONG has been righted. But to what extent? The Supreme Court’s decision to reverse its 2022 opinion on Article...
ML-1’s prospects
05 Oct, 2024

ML-1’s prospects

ONE of the signature projects envisaged under the CPEC umbrella is the Mainline-1 railway scheme, which is yet to ...
No breathing space
05 Oct, 2024

No breathing space

THIS is the time of the year when city dwellers across Punjab start choking on toxic air. Soon the harmful air will...
High cost of living
Updated 04 Oct, 2024

High cost of living

There will be no let-up in the pain of middle-class people when it comes to grocery expenses, school fees, and hospital bills.
Regional response
04 Oct, 2024

Regional response

IT is welcome that Afghanistan’s neighbours are speaking with one voice when it comes to the critical issue of...
Cultural conservation
04 Oct, 2024

Cultural conservation

THE Sindh government’s recent move to declare the Sayad Hashmi Reference Library as a protected heritage site is...