Global shipping giants halt Red Sea transits: Four of the world’s largest shipping outfits — Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd — will halt transits through the Red Sea amid continued attacks on shipping, company representatives told Enterprise. Another major carrier, Hong Kong-based liner OOCL, has also said that it will stop handling cargoes to and from Israel “with immediate effect,” according to a statement. The move follows a spate of Houthi-led attacks and near-misses that targeted vessels operated by MSC, Maersk, and Hapag-Lloyd in the Red Sea over the past few days, Reuters reported here and here.

How long of a hiatus are we talking about? “We are not happy with the decision and hope that navigation returns to normal,” Maersk’s MENA Chief Group Representative Hany El Nady told us. “The Suez Canal is the most suitable and safest navigation route for international trade to cross … unlike the open sea, which is not devoid of its own risks,” he added. Hapag-Lloyd’s pause is set to continue until today, the National reported on Saturday. While CMA CGM and MSC said that they are stopping transits indefinitely, according to statements here and here. OOCL did not specify a timeline for the resumption of its operations in Israel, according to its statement.

More security for trade vessels in the Red Sea is on the cards: Maersk is in talks with the European Union, the International Maritime Organization, as well as other groups to partner on safer transit in the Red Sea, El Nady added. The Biden administration is also lobbying for a multinational naval force to protect shipping in the region, with current plans calling for an expansion of the pre-existing Combined Task Force 153 that is focused on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Iran + Yemen are not impressed: Iran has rebuffed plans for a US-led coalition to safeguard vessels in the region, “If they make such an irrational move, they will be faced with extraordinary problems,” Iran’s Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said in statements cited by Reuters last Thursday. Meanwhile, a Yemeni official has said that a ceasefire in Gaza is the only sure way to guarantee safe passage for Israeli and Israel-bound vessels in the region, Tasnim reported on Thursday.

Alternative land routes are also being tested: The last few days saw the first delivery of foodstuffs arrive in Israel from the UAE via a new land bridge that looks to temporarily replace sea routes amid the Houthi blockade, Almayadeen reported on Saturday. The trial saw 10 trucks haul goods from the UAE to Israel, transiting KSA and Jordan while enroute. Jordan later denied its participation in the land bridge, according to government statements cited by Petra.

REMEMBER – UAE-based logistics outfits FZCO and DP World had discussed inking an agreement with Israeli logistics firm Trucknet to connect ports in the two countries via a land bridge as a workaround to the Houthi-imposed blockade on Israeli shipping.

What does this mean for the Suez Canal? The Suez Canal Authority has yet to make a statement on setbacks due to the decision by the global freight carriers. It’s not clear how much of the traffic passing through the Suez Canal belongs to the four shipping lines. The waterway represents the shortest route between markets in Europe, North America, and Europe, with 12% of global trade transiting the route, according to figures cited by the US Naval Institute.

The situation in the Red Sea has been escalating for some time: Attacks on shipping in the region have been making headlines since Israel started its war on Gaza, as the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen look to pressure Israel. While Israeli ships were originally the sole target, armed Houthi groups upped the ante last week by announcing that they will target all shipping companies that work with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality.

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