Less than a week before Maersk planned to resume the Red Sea route, the two attacks on the "MAERSK HANGZHOU" ("Maersk Hangzhou") made the situation in the Red Sea uncertain again.

On January 3, Xu Kai, chief information officer of the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, said in an interview with a reporter from the Daily Economic News on WeChat that once the Red Sea crisis continues, the capacity turnover of container ships will continue to slow down, resulting in a decline in market capacity supply. The surplus turns to tension, and European trading companies may over-order goods to ensure the safety of the supply chain. In extreme cases, the phenomenon of difficulty in finding a cabin, shortage of empty containers, and warehouse explosion at the port in 2021 may reappear. The resource turnover rate of the above-mentioned maritime chain How far conduction will worsen depends on whether the Red Sea crisis can be resolved quickly.
Maersk once again announces suspension of transit through the Red Sea
According to Maersk's official website, on the evening of December 30, 2023, the "Maersk Hangzhou" was attacked by Yemeni Houthi armed missiles for the first time in the Red Sea. There were no signs of fire on the ship and it could continue to transport northward. On December 31, 2023, four small boats of the Houthi armed forces launched another attack on the ship and attempted to board the ship. The security team of the "Maersk Hangzhou" and a helicopter deployed from a nearby naval ship successfully foiled this attempt. . The Maersk Hangzhou, which was attacked twice within 24 hours, was also one of the company's first container ships to return to the Red Sea.
The crew aboard the Maersk Hangzhou is reportedly safe. Maersk said the safety of the crew is its top priority and all necessary safety measures have been taken to protect them. The crew will also receive all the support they need from Maersk.
In addition, according to CCTV News, on January 2, the British Maritime Trade Action Office also reported that three explosions occurred on a merchant ship near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the cause of the explosion is under investigation. The ship's captain reported no damage to the hull.
The continued explosions near the Bab el-Mandab Strait have caused international shipping giants to reconsider cautiously and increase wages for crew members in transit in the sea area. CMA CGM, which has not changed its resumption plan, announced that starting from January 15, the company will significantly increase the freight from Asia to the Mediterranean. For example, the freight for a 40-inch standard container will directly increase from US$3,000 to US$6,000.
On January 2, Maersk released the latest news on its official website. The company decided to suspend all ships passing through the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, and will continue to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope if customers need it. On the same day, Hapag-Lloyd also issued a notice on its official website stating that the company had to immediately decide to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea and bypass the Cape of Good Hope.
Empty container transportation at the terminal is out of sync
Nowadays, freight price increases have become commonplace in the industry, and what is even more worrying is the upcoming delay in shipping schedules.
A reporter from the "Daily Economic News" learned from a staff member at a terminal in Shanghai that due to the situation in the Red Sea, it is expected that container ships coming from Europe will be delayed in arriving at the port in the second, third, and fourth weeks of January, because it is the time for shipping. During the peak season, obstruction of import and export logistics will lead to intensified domestic demand for empty containers.
On September 18 last year, when the reporter visited the Northeast Asia Empty Container Distribution Center of Shanghai Port, the temporary storage capacity of containers at the port was 400,000. The above-mentioned staff said that the warehouse was basically full, which was an extreme situation. On January 3 this year, the reporter asked again about the situation of the storage containers. The other party said that according to preliminary estimates, there were about 110,000 empty containers and that the empty containers were temporarily diverted due to the Red Sea incident.
According to Xu Kai, for example, at Qingdao Port (601298.SH, stock price 6.44 yuan, market value 41.803 billion yuan), which has a relatively obvious throughput growth momentum this year, the excess of empty containers has been basically eliminated as early as the third quarter of 2023. , to achieve a state of balance between supply and demand.
In the logistics circle, the argument that "the Red Sea incident will cause container shortages and port congestion in Asian ports from mid-to-late January at the earliest" has begun to circulate.
Xu Kai explained that the key to judging the shortage or surplus of containers is whether there are many containers in transit. If more ships divert, it means more containers in transit and fewer empty containers on shore. In addition, the length of the voyage will slow down the return of empty containers. Empty containers are even more scarce at the shipping port, thus reducing the available empty container rate.
In addition, the throughput performance of major domestic ports is different, and there was a certain degree of mismatch in empty container storage before the crisis. In other words, even if the global shipping industry has enough containers, they may not be at the correct location. 
Industry insiders revealed to reporters that CIMC Group (000039.SZ, stock price 7.91 yuan, market value 42.655 billion yuan) has seen an increase in orders recently. Another container trade person told reporters that compared with before the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis, the ordering price of containers has increased by 5%-10%, and container factories have been relatively full in the past two or three months.