Red Sea: Wallenius Wilhelmsen reroutes vessels until further notice

Norway-based ro-ro shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen has decided to reroute all vessels planned for Red Sea transits via the Cape of Good Hope until further notice.

PHOTO: A container ship passing through the Suez Canal. Getty Images

The alternative route will result in about 10-14 additional days of sailing time, Wallenius Wilhelmsen says.

“To monitor the ever-changing situation we have developed a cross-functional team,” it says.

Last week, Danish shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk suspended all operations by the Red Sea trade route until further notice after one of its container ships was attacked by the Houthi militants.

As of 8 January, about 515 commercial vessels accounting for 7 million TEUs of container capacity have been diverted or are set to be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, US-based supply logistics firm Flexport reports.

“All major container carriers continue to avoid the risk areas with the exception of CMA CGM who is making routing decisions on a vessel-by-vessel basis based on many factors,” Flexport says.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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