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Maersk Says “Not Yet” for Return to Red Sea Routing

Three months after starting to divert all its vessels from a passage through the Red Sea, Maersk told customers today that it is too soon in its assessment to resume its normal routes. They said the routing around Africa allows the best supply chain stability, in their assessment, saying that a switch is complex and they wanted to make sure it would be sustained over the long term and avoid further disruption. They write that they are aware that Operation Aspides has taken shape and welcome it as a positive development along with the U.S.-led efforts. Maersk writes that they are also in “continuous dialogue” and monitoring developments in the region. “Regretfully, both our internal analysis, as well as insight we received from external sources, still indicates that the risk level in the region remains elevated,” they wrote in their latest customer alert. Maersk vessels were targeted by the Houthi on two different occasions in December leading the carrier to first suspend, then resume, and then suspend again transits through the region around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Maersk Gibraltar had a near-miss incident on December 14 leading to the…

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Report: Shadow Tankers Sail Without Danish Pilots Despite Recent Collision

There are renewed concerns that the fleet of shadow tankers carrying Russian oil continues to disregard international regulations and is creating an increasing maritime danger. The Danish Maritime Authority is confirming that one of the tankers was involved in a small accident earlier in the month as the Financial Times today published a leaked report that says the tankers are now regularly declining the services of pilots as they transit the busy shipping lanes in the Danish Straits. Concerns have been raised before about the potential of tankers attempting to navigate the narrow channels and strong currents in the Danish Strait without the country’s experienced pilots. The Danish Maritime Authority expressed concerns about the dangers of vessels traveling in the busy shipping lanes without assistance in September 2022. These concerns are being renewed and causing a political debate in Denmark in the wake of the reports that a somewhat mysterious tanker inbound to the Baltic clipped a smaller cargo ship outbound at the beginning of March. In a leaked report seen by the Financial Times and Danwatch, a Danish media group, they are asserting that at least 20 tankers were…

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IMO Moves Forward (Slowly) With Framework for Net-Zero Fuels and Fees

The eighty-first session of the Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization concluded on Friday after a week of meetings in London with what at best was being called a “step forward” or “progress toward the goals” for reducing shipping’s carbon emissions. While the meeting was not for the adoption of the regulations, many are still saying the progress is slow and highlights that much still needs to be done between now and the next MEPC meeting in the fall which calls for steps adopting the initiatives outlined in 2023. Member States met this week to debate and raise concerns about the key elements of the MEPC strategy adopted in July 2023. The IMO hailed last year’s efforts highlighting broad agreement for the climate roadmap that calls for reaching net-zero emissions "by or around, i.e. close to, 2050." The specific targets in the agreement include a 20 percent cut in emissions by 2030 and a much deeper 70 percent cut by 2040 (relative to 2008 levels). In the nine months since then, the IMO has been working on a framework for the key elements while…

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