Two of the world’s top shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, said on Thursday they did not see an immediate return to the Red Sea after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was announced.

Both companies said they would closely monitor the situation in the Middle East and return to the Red Sea once it was safe.

“The agreement has only just been reached. We will closely analyze the latest developments and their impact on the security situation in the Red Sea,” said a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson.

“It is still too early to speculate about timing,” a Maersk spokesperson said.

Hapag-Lloyd had already flagged in June that a ceasefire would not mean an immediate resume of passage through the Suez Canal, as attacks from Yemen-based Houthi militants could still be possible.

Rearranging the schedule would take between four and six weeks, a company spokesperson said at the time.

Disruptions in the Middle East have caused shipping companies to divert their vessels toward longer routes, often forcing their container ships around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, pushing freight rates higher, and disrupting global ocean shipping.

Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

They have sunk two vessels, seized another, and killed at least four seafarers.

The attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for more than a year.

Maritime security officials said on Thursday they were expecting Houthis to announce a halt in attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The experts pointed to an email, seen by Reuters, from the group postponing a planned security briefing that had been due to take place in the coming days as a possible signal.

“British, American and Israeli strikes have succeeded in significantly limiting the attacks by Houthis, who are looking for a pretext to announce a ceasefire,” Dimitris Maniatis, the CEO of maritime security company Marisks, said regarding the briefing postponement.

Another maritime security official said that an announcement was largely expected, and there were indications that some companies were preparing to resume Red Sea journeys.

However, it was still too early to say that traffic would be restored.
“The first sign that business returns to normal will be seen in the insurance market, as insurance fees will start decreasing,” the official said.

A second maritime official said a halt in attacks was widely expected but could not confirm it.

In the email seen by Reuters, the Houthis said that the security webinar, aimed at shipping and maritime companies and the first such invitation they had issued, had been postponed to Feb. 10 due to the many questions and suggestions received from participants.

“This will ensure that the event is more comprehensive and beneficial for all attendees,” they said in the email on Wednesday.