Maersk, a Danish shipping company, announced on Monday that one of its vessels had successfully navigated the Red Sea and Bab El-Mandeb Strait. This comes weeks after the firm tested the route in anticipation of normal shipping traffic following the Gaza ceasefire.

Maersk released a statement saying that the U.S.-flagged vessel Maersk Denver, voyage 552W (currently operating under the MECL service), successfully traversed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on 11-12 January 2026 and entered the Red Sea.

"Assuming that security thresholds are met, we will continue our step-by-step approach to gradually resume navigation along the East West corridor via the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Maersk said that there are no more sailings at this time.

(source: Reuters)