Maersk-Situation Around Red Sea Still Volatile, Further Alters Routes

Wires carrying comments from Danish shipping giant Maersk. States that the 'situation in and around the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden continues to be volatile', with 'available intelligence at hand confirming that the security risk remains at a significantly high level'.

• Confirms that theBlue Nile Express route will now omit the Red Sea, taking in only Jebel Ali in the UAE, Salalah in Oman, Hazira and Mumbai in India. Claims that 'there is no expected impact to carrying capacity.
• Also implements temporary suspension of bookings to or from Asia/MENA/Oceania/east Africa/southern Africa to the port of Djibouti, which sits on the Gulf of Aden side of the Bab Al-Mandab strait.
• The FT reports that Beijing is seeking to calm tensions in the region amid concerns about the impact on the Chinese economy posed by the ongoing Houthi attacks. "China has called on “all relevant parties” to “ensure the safety of navigation in the Red Sea..[...] China’s Ministry of Commerce stopped short of signalling diplomatic or military assistance to defuse the crisis in the waterway. “The Red Sea is an important international trade route,” a ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that China would “strengthen co-ordination with relevant departments, closely follow the developments and provide timely support and assistance to foreign trade enterprises”."