“You have to be prepared,” Maersk tells customers about Red Sea service

Danish group Maersk informed its customers in a statement on Tuesday that they should prepare for disruptions in the Red Sea to extend into the second half of the year and provide for longer transit times in their supply chain planning.

Major container shipping lines have switched ships bound for the Suez Canal to the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa following attacks on shipping by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

“Know your best alternative for entering the North American market and be prepared to have mitigations in place,” Maersk’s regional president for North America, Charles van der Steene, said in a statement.

“Start quantifying and preparing to mitigate changes in your supply chain costs,” he added.

Maersk has increased its vessel capacity by 6% to compensate for delays due to longer transit times through Africa.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen; editing by Stine Jacobsen; Spanish editing by Javi West Larrañaga)