The New York Times published on 21 March 2025 an article titled "Why the Shipping Industry Isn't Rushing Back to the Red Sea" by Peter Eavis.
Shipping executives who have been routing ships around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks rather than through the Suez Canal and Red Sea say they have no intention of returning to the shorter Red Sea route until there is a Middle East peace accord that includes the Houthis, or they are militarily defeated decisively.
Maersk posted on 12 June 2024 an update titled "Navigating Challenges in the Red Sea and Beyond."
About 30 percent of global container traffic previously travelled through the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Because of Houthi attacks on international shipping, Maersk, one of the largest users of this route, is now sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and avoiding the Suez Canal and Red Sea. This has increased fuel costs by about 40 percent, caused delays and congestion in key ports such as Singapore and Shanghai, and has reduced industry wide shipping capacity by 15-20 percent.
The Associated Press published on 19 December 2023 an article titled "Pentagon Announces New International Maritime Protection Force for the Red Sea."
At any given time, there are about 400 commercial vessels transiting the southern Red Sea in an area where Iranian-supported and Yemen-based Houthis are attacking commercial shipping with drones and ballistic missiles. Consequently, the United States has organized Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect all ships transiting the Red Sea. So far, the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain have joined the security mission.
One notably absent participant is China, which has three PLA Navy ships (usually two frigates and a supply ship) permanently assigned in the area. So far, those ships have not responded to previous calls for assistance by commercial vessels even though some of the ships attacked have had ties to Hong Kong.
Bloomberg published on 17 December 2023 an article titled "Shipping Giants Pause Red Sea Route as Houthi Attacks Intensify" by Alaric Nightingale and Sanne Wass.
The United States is stepping up efforts to organize a multinational force to protect shipping in the Red Sea against attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis based in Yemen. At least two large shipping lines have decided to pause using the route, which will result in higher shipping costs and the loss of income for Egypt as fewer ships pass through the Suez Canal.
Comment: China has two PLA Navy frigates and a supply ship in the area and probably has a greater stake than any other country in the ability of commercial ships to pass safely through the Red Sea. This raises the obvious question: what it is doing to protect freedom of navigation through these waters,
