LNG

Feb 6 (LNGJ) - CMA CGM, the French containership company based in Marseille that has the most vessels running on LNG fuel and with regular routes into East Mediterranean ports including Beirut in Lebanon, has finally ended operations in the Red Sea because of mounting security concerns.

   “CMA CGM informs its customers that until further notice, all services initially routed via the Red Sea passage will now follow the Cape of Good Hope routing,” explained the company. “The safety of our seafarers remains our priority at all times,” stated CMA CGM. The Red Sea southern approaches to the Suez Canal have been used for the past four months for attacks from Yemen on international shipping by Iran-backed terrorists.

An attack on the LNG and oil and gas-producing United Arab Emirates has led a UK-based shipping security firm to raise a commercial shipping warning in the region to “substantial” and for Saudi Arabian and UAE-flagged ships to “severe”.