Maersk Reroutes Vessels Around Africa from Red Sea

Denmark's Maersk said on Tuesday its vessels previously paused and due to sail through the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden would be rerouted around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope due to attacks on vessels in the area. 

As of Monday, December 18, Maersk had paused around 20 vessels, of which half were waiting east of the Gulf of Aden and the rest were waiting south of the Suez canal in the Red Sea or north of it in the Mediterranean Sea, the company said in a statement. 

A Maersk container ship was targeted but not hit by a missile on Thursday while en route from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

Future vessel sailings planned through the area would be assessed case by case to determine whether adjustments are necessary, the shipping group said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)