Wallenius Wilhelmsen is treating the Red Sea security situation as the new normal.
Chief executive Lasse Kristoffersen told TradeWinds the company would continue keeping its vessels out of the area until an “on-the-ground, political, civil solution” is reached.
When asked when the company could return to the region, he said: “We’re thinking the absolute opposite way.
“It’s a horrible situation both in Gaza and also the attacks that the Houthis are launching, supposedly at the back of that. But we don’t see any military solution to this. No military operation can secure our safety in that area.”
On 18 December, Oslo-listed Wallenius Wilhelmsen was the first car carrier owner to announce it would avoid the Red Sea after a string of attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants on commercial shipping.
Its ships were then rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, adding up to two weeks to a voyage, further lowering capacity in a tight market and likely driving up rates for ships available for charter.
Meanwhile, the attacks have escalated. The 50,448-dwt True Confidence (built 2011) was struck by a Houthi missile on 6 March, killing two crew members.
Earlier this week, 23 crew members were kidnapped when the 58,000-dwt Abdullah (built 2015) was hijacked by Somali pirates, alleged to be backed the Houthis.
Kristoffersen was interviewed before the Abdullah incident.
He said even with military escorts, merchant ships are still being attacked.
“That’s why we are planning and telling our customers and everybody else that this is now the new norm,” he said. “We don’t know when we will go back to the Red Sea, but it [the situation] could and most likely will last for quite a while.”
