Bloomberg: Shipping bosses warn maritime security in Red Sea getting worse

Major shipping companies are warning that the security situation in the Red Sea is continuing to deteriorate, despite efforts by the West to limit attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Bloomberg said, Report informs.

The bosses of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and D/S Norden A/S said on Thursday that they felt the threat level was continuing to escalate in the region. It comes after Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. said the disruption on the route could last for a year.

“We’ve not seen the level of threat peak, to the contrary,” Maersk Chief Executive Officer Vincent Clerc said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The amount or the range of weapons that are being used for these attacks is expanding and there is no clear line of sight to when and how the international community will be able to mobilize itself and guarantee safe passage for us.”

In order to be confident about sailing through again, there need to be signs of a period of stability Norden Chief Executive Officer Jan Rinbo said. Only when that is combined with a period of no attacks would it be viable for merchant shipping to think about returning, he added.

“You need to have a de-escalating situation, and we are not at that point yet,” he said by phone. “If anything it just seems to escalate.”