French shipping group (CMA CGM) announced today, Saturday, that it has "suspended the transit of all container shipments through the Red Sea, following attacks on commercial vessels in the area." The Marseille-based group stated in a release: "The situation is deteriorating further, and concerns about safety are increasing." It added, "Therefore, we have decided to instruct all container ships belonging to the CMA CGM group in the area that were scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to head to safe areas and to halt their journeys in safe waters immediately until further notice."
Meanwhile, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), based in Switzerland, stated today that it will stop using the Suez Canal following an attack on one of its ships. In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Houthi group from Yemen has attacked vessels in the Red Sea, an important route that allows for trade between East and West, particularly oil, via the Suez Canal to avoid wasting further time and costs of sailing around Africa. The Houthi group reported that the MSC Palatium 3, flying the Liberian flag, was attacked yesterday, Friday, by a drone in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. MSC, the world's largest container shipping company, stated that there were no reports of injuries; however, the ship sustained some damage from a fire and was taken out of service.
