Shipping giant Maersk halts Suez Canal , Bab el - Mandeb sailings amid escalating conflict

thenews.com.pk · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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shipping giant Maersk halts Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandeb sailings amid escalating conflict Shipping giant Maersk has halted its operations and sailings in the wake of the US-Israel-Iran latest conflicts. "Due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East region following the escalating military conflict, we have decided to pause future Trans-Suez sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the time being, said Maersk in a statement on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Denmark's container shipping group Maersk informed on that it will pause sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal and reroute ships around the Cape of Good Hope, it said on Sunday, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The company last month announced a gradual return of some services to the Suez route, seen as a key step towards ending two years of global trade disruption caused by attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Maersk had said on Friday it would temporarily reroute some sailings around Africa, away from the Suez Canal, citing unforeseen constraints in the Red Sea region. Maersk also said it was suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice, adding that services calling ports in the Arabian Gulf may experience delays, rerouting, or schedule adjustments. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take all needed actions," the company said. "Once the situation stabilizes and the security conditions again permit, we will continue to prioritize the Trans-Suez route," Maersk added, commenting on its Middle East-India to Mediterranean and Middle East-India to East Coast U.S. services. Additionally, the shipping giant added it was still accepting cargo to the Middle East. Meanwhile, Mediterranean Shipping Company said in a separate statement on Sunday it was suspending all cargo bookings to the Middle East until further notice, as the shift comes in reaction to the growing possibility of a military confrontation between the United States and Iran. MSC said it had instructed all vessels currently operating in the Gulf region as well as those en route to the area to proceed to safe shelter areas until further notice. It said it was closely monitoring developments and that the bookings will resume as soon as the security situation improves. Moreover, CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping line, on Saturday said it had told its vessels inside or headed for the Gulf to proceed to shelter after the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. It also announced it was suspending sailings through the Suez Canal. Maersk had said on Friday it would temporarily reroute some of its sailings around the ⁠Cape of ‌Good Hope, away from the Suez Canal Why it matters: The Suez Canal is the shortest and quickest maritime route linking Asia and Europe via the Middle East. The chokepoint is essential to global trade, handling around 12-15% of all global shipments and 30% of total container traffic. Maersk’s announcement from the shipping giant founded in 1904 comes as the threat of a US-Iran military confrontation looms large. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, joined American military forces in Middle Eastern waters on Friday. It is the largest fighting force in the Middle East since the Second Gulf War in 2003. Maersk, a Danish integrated container logistics company and a global leader in shipping, is operating in 130 countries with over 100,000 employees worldwide. The latest tension between the nations has not only affected one company, but experts unveiled that gold, along with other commodities and major businesses, is also affected by the recent conflict.