Some shipping companies announce return to Red Sea as Houthi attacks continue

French shipping giant CMA-CGM has resumed some transit through the Red Sea, days after Danish group Maersk announced it would return as a U.S.-led naval coalition is now policing the maritime route against Yemeni rebel attacks.

The attacks prompted shipping companies to reroute vessels around the southern tip of Africa earlier this month – a longer and more expensive trip than the Red Sea route that links up with the Suez Canal.

CMA-CGM said in a notice on Tuesday that "some vessels have made the transit through the Red Sea" following an "in-depth evaluation of the security landscape and our commitment to the security and safety of our seafarers."

"We are currently devising plans for the gradual increase in the number of vessels transiting through the Suez Canal," it said.

The United States launched a multinational task force last week to counter the Houthi missile and drone attacks along the route, which carries up to 12 percent of global trade. And yet insecurity was still on display in the area, when on Tuesday a vessel belonging to container shipping giant MSC was attacked while en route from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.

The Houthis said they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas militants.

Others remain cautious. Hapag-Lloyd and Evergreen Line, the container shipping arm of Evergreen Group, told CNN Wednesday that they would continue to reroute vessels via the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, citing the area "too dangerous to pass." MSC said the same Tuesday.

A local shipping company head from the Port of Aden, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, told CMG recently that shipping costs have risen by 50 percent to 100 percent, thus influencing the prices being paid at checkouts.

Regardless if companies return to their old route of the Red Sea or send ships through the longer, more expensive route via Africa, shipping costs will likely to rise anyway. 

According to CNN, companies are adding an "Emergency Revenue Charge" to avoid potential disruptions and that will add $1,000 to a common 20-foot container traveling eastbound via the Suez Canal, and $1,500 for one heading west via the Gulf of Aden.

The shipping disruption could affect the price of consumer goods, if companies pass on higher transport costs to customers.

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: File photo of a vessel of shipping giant CMA-CGM. /AFP)