COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish shipping company Maersk said on Friday that one of its vessels had successfully navigated the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the first time in nearly two years, as shipping companies weigh returning to the critical Asia-Europe trade corridor.

The company stated that while it had no firm plans to fully reopen the route, it would take a “stepwise approach toward gradually resuming navigation” via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Maersk declined to further elaborate on its plans.

Maersk and rivals, including Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, rerouted vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope from December 2023 after Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked ships in the Red Sea in what they said was a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Suez Canal is the fastest route linking Europe and Asia and until the attacks had accounted for about 10% of global seaborne trade, according to Clarksons Research.

French shipping firm CMA CGM........

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