Red Sea crisis : ONE delays restart of Asia – US East Coast Service

SINGAPORE : Ocean Network Express (ONE) has postponed the reinstatement of its East Coast 4 (EC4) service connecting Asia and the US East Coast due to the continued threat from Houthi militiants in the Red Sea.

The EC4 service was suspended in late October due to market conditions and was due to restart on Week 16, starting 15 April, this year. However, ONE said it was postponing the commencement of EC4 service “until the Red Sea situation further stabilises”.

Due to the ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea since the hijacking of the car carrier Galaxy Leader in mid-November last year the vast majority of container services that would normally transit the region and the Suez Canal are being diverted via the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope adding significantly to both transit times and fuel costs.

ONE will continue to add a Xiamen call to its EC1 service, a call in Yantian to EC2, and the EC5 service keeps additional calls in Charleston and New York, while the EC4 service remains suspended.