Maersk rules out Suez Canal return until ‘well into 2025’ due to Red Sea threat

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday it expects strong demand for shipping goods around the globe to continue in the coming months, though does not expect to resume sailing through the Suez Canal until “well into 2025”.

Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a shipping route vital to east-west trade, with prolonged re-routing of shipments pushing freight rates higher and causing congestion in Asian and European ports.

“There are no signs of de-escalation and it is not safe for our vessels or personnel to go there … Our expectation at this point is that it will last well into 2025,” Chief Executive Vincent Clerc told journalists.

Maersk, viewed as a barometer of world trade, said in January it was diverting all container vessels from Red Sea routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.

The company said on Thursday it had seen strong demand in the third quarter especially driven by exports out of China and Southeast Asia.

Clerc said he saw no signs of a slowdown in volumes from Europe or North America in the coming months.

Maersk also confirmed robust preliminary third-quarter earnings released on Oct. 21 driven by high freight rates, when it also raised its full-year forecasts citing solid demand and the continuing disruption to shipping in the Red Sea.

Maersk’s shares rose 2.4% by 0957 GMT.