U.S. tariffs — combined with sudden threats and truces — make it difficult for importers and exporters to calibrate their orders, causing unseasonal swings in demand.
Earlier this year, the Houthis agreed to halt attacks on U.S.-flagged vessels, but vessels flagged under U.S. allies or shipping to Israeli ports have remained vulnerable.
The carrier suffered a roughly halving of freight bookings for China exports to the U.S. after the world’s two largest economies imposed triple-digit tariffs on each other’s goods.
Imports have been elevated since last summer, first as retailers brought in cargo ahead of an October strike at U.S. ports, then in anticipation of an escalation of tariffs.
A pall of uncertainty hangs over what for decades has been one the main maritime highways of the global economy, carrying manufactured goods and vital commodities.
The vessel experienced what Maersk described as "machinery related issues in the main engine room" while it was roughly 354 nautical miles east of Bermuda.
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