The ITF acknowledged the steps taken by leading container shipping companies MSC, Maersk, and Hapag-Lloyd to divert their vessels from the region, as well as tanker companies BP and Frontline.
Stephen Cotton, ITF General Secretary said ‘‘The primary concern of the ITF is the safety of seafarers and we would expect shipping companies to share that concern. Seafarers move the world. We applaud companies that are rerouting their vessels. The focus at this time needs to be about the health and safety of the seafarers and less about the cost of oil and transport.’'
CMA CGM, HMM, and ONE have all also said they will temporarily stop transiting the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
“ONE will reroute our vessels away from the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Instead, we will either navigate our vessels around the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily pause their journey and reposition them in a safe location,” ONE said in a customer advisory on 19 December.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and reinstate our services through the Suez Canal when we determine the area is safe and secure for our seafarers, our vessels, and the cargo onboard.”
The rerouting of vessels via the Cape of Good Hope extends the voyage between Asia and Europe by over 3,000 nm in each direction potentially adding weeks to seafarers time at sea. However, while rerouting would have a significant impact on seafarers tours of duty the ITF said it would most importantly reduce risk crews currently face in the Red Sea.
