Maersk and CMA CGM Carriers Return to Suez Canal Despite Houthi Attack Killing 6 Sailors

A Houthi attack carried out by Yemenis on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on August 11-12 claimed six lives, including four crew members and two rescuers, in the deadliest strike in over a year — yet Maersk and CMA CGM immediately announced the resumption of their routes via the Suez Canal, ignoring security risks amid a logistical bottleneck demanding action.

Typhoon "Dolphin", which hit China in early August, stranded over 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo, and surrounding areas, with wait times of 4-5 days still rippling toward South China ports — making the return to the Suez route a forced choice for shipping lines seeking to relieve congestion.

Weekly maritime traffic data showed a drop in Red Sea transits immediately following the attack, but economic pressure quickly outweighed security calculations; a maritime sector source confirmed that Cosco's traffic may soon join those returning, while insurance costs and war risk premiums hover over the Bab el-Mandeb route once again.

This situation reveals delicate calculations facing major shipping companies: the cost of rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope currently outweighs the risks of Houthi attacks, meaning that the stability of the Suez route hinges on an economic equation that could be overturned by a single strike.

What do these terms mean?

TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit): A standard unit of measurement equivalent to a 20-foot (6-meter) shipping container, used to measure vessel and port capacity.

Bab el-Mandeb: A narrow maritime strait separating Yemen from Djibouti, serving as the southern gateway to the Suez Canal, through which approximately 12% of global trade passes.

War Risk Premium: An additional insurance premium imposed by insurers on vessels passing through conflict zones, added to shipping costs and reflected in goods prices for the end consumer.