Maersk CEO Says Unclear If Safe Passage in Red Sea Will Take Days - Or Months

Vincent Clerc, CEO of shipping giant Maersk, told the Financial Times that it's not clear if "re-establishing safe passage into the Red Sea in a matter of days, weeks or months." He also said that the Houthi disruption of trade in the Red Sea "could potentially have quite significant consequences on global growth."

Maersk had originally tried to go back to sending its container ships through the Red Sea but ultimately backed out, despite assurances from the US-led naval alliance known as Operation Prosperity Guardian aimed at protecting all shipping passing through the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal and Europe.

Clerc warned that “in the short run, it could cause significant disruptions at the end of January, February and into March" and that the increased fuel and handling costs of circumventing the African continent could increase inflationary pressures on Europe and the US.