Hong Kong authorities reported ASL Bauhinia's abandonment due to an explosion in Red Sea.
A Hong Kong flagged container ship known as ASL Bauhinia was abandoned by its crew after an explosion caused by Houthi rebels ignited an internal fire aboard, sparking widespread smoke from within and drifting 225 kilometers off Hodeida port city, Yemeni port controlled by Houthis rebels, leading them to abandon it due to continuing operational dangers in these contested waters. Industry security consultancy Diaplous Group reported this event.
Satellite data helped verify the identities and conditions of these vessels. NASA wildfire monitoring imagery accurately pinpointed an intense blaze off Eritreas Dahlak Archipelago to ASL Bauhinia container ship AIS tracks obtained through MarineTraffic, verifying that ASL Bauhinia was burning for at least two days after an initial explosion on March 15. The vessel had left Dubai bound for Jeddah Saudi Arabia when it began drifting following casualty reports; authorities later described its cargo as dangerous without immediately disclosing further information.
CSSC Hong Kong Shipping Co Ltd was not immediately available for comment following the incident, yet maritime security analysts and insurers are closely watching it due to its proximity to areas previously affected by attacks against merchant shipping. Furthermore, this event adds another factor into consideration for container operators when deciding between using Red Sea corridor or Cape of Good Hope routes for their containers.
Red Sea container ship flows are at risk in light of security concerns.
Loss of control of ASL Bauhinia comes amid a larger security environment in which merchant vessels in the Red Sea and adjacent approaches have been subject to repeated attacks since late 2023, predominantly attributable to Houthi forces based out of Yemen, targeting commercial tonnage with drones and missiles resulting in several sinkings, multiple fatalities among seafarers, as well as increased fuel costs and longer transit times but decreased security risk. Operators have since responded by diverting significant portions of Asia Europe Middle East trades towards routes around Cape of Good Hope with increased fuel costs but reduced risk in exchange for reduced security risk.
Houthi representatives have signaled at various points that attacks might decrease or be limited in scope, yet industry behavior shows otherwise. Container carriers and their insurers remain wary, as evidenced by industry behavior such as ASL Bauhinia incident highlights this. Many operators continue to conduct full voyage threat analyses, strengthen watchkeeping practices and liaise closely with naval forces before committing high value containers to Red Sea passages. With an estimated one trillion dollar trade passing annually through this corridor, any high profile casualty involving container ship can have outsized effects on risk perception and premium pricing.
Environmental concerns add another element. Burned ships in semi enclosed waters pose potential pollution risks to sensitive coral reefs and fisheries along the Red Sea coastline, and ASL Bauhinia as a container vessel carrying dangerous cargo raises concerns regarding possible hazardous material releases if fire breach stowage locations or compromise hull integrity, prompting regional authorities and classification societies to review plans, firefighting preparedness, emergency response planning procedures and emergency responses as a result of this event. In response, regional authorities and classification societies will review planning, firefighting preparedness and emergency response in light of this event, furthering an already intense focus on fire safety aboard large container ships.[4
Substantial return of container services on the Suez route despite persistent risks
As the ASL Bauhinia disaster demonstrated, major container carriers have begun taking steps toward returning some services to traditional Asia Europe and transatlantic corridors via Red Sea routings. CMA CGM announced its INDAMEX service between India and Pakistan with US East Coast would utilize full loop Suez Canal operation both headhaul and backhaul legs; marking one of the clearest signals yet of a return of traditional Red Sea routes for selected services.
CMA CGM Verdi will become the inaugural vessel to complete an entire INDAMEX loop via Suez under its revised routing, performing full rotations between Karachi and New York on this revised service. Additional vessels such as APL Oregon, CMA CGM Passion, APL Le Havre and CMA CGM Maupassant may conduct eastbound Suez transits before this new rotation fully kicks in. Additionally, other CMA CGM tonnage such as CMA CGM Jules Verne, APL Changi Galapagos Grace Bay APL Merlion Kimberley have also been observed making these eastbound passages; although only some are part of official scheduled routings.
Data provider eeSea operated by Xeneta indicates that switching INDAMEX routes away from Cape of Good Hope reduces voyage time to about 77 days, shortening complete loop by two weeks and tightening available capacity on that trade lane by CMA CGM by two ships each week while keeping weekly frequency steady - effectively tightening capacity on it while tightening available capacity across other trade lanes. Analysts speculate this shift may release substantial container capacity back into global networks at a time of global oversupply resulting in downward pressure on spot freight rates as spot freight rates tend to already become oversupplied due to oversupply on spot freight rates already being too oversupplied markets.
Industry risk evaluation and rate implications have to be carefully considered.
Though CMA CGM made headlines for their swift entry, other major container lines have taken more cautious approaches when entering Red Sea and Suez corridor areas in large quantities. Hapag Lloyd and Maersk have yet to give definitive dates or timelines for restarting east west loops through Suez; Israeli affiliated carrier ZIM indicated it is waiting on insurance approvals before making commitments about broader returns. These differing strategies reflect each carrier's risk appetites, fleet deployment options and contractual obligations; plus their assessments on when security conditions will stabilise after episodic attacks have subsided.[2
Peter Sand of Xeneta stresses that CMA CGM's decision should not be seen as an automatic precursor to rapid normalisation of Red Sea traffic volumes. Container ship transits through the Suez Canal totaled around 120 in November 2025 compared to 583 before attacks escalated, underlining how far from full corridor usage recovery the market remains. Carriers have conducted security risk analyses considering three key elements relating to hostile actors' ability, opportunity and intent of attacking merchant shipping; current analysis indicates capabilities are intact while intent and opportunity could shift depending on traffic patterns changes.
Analysts recognize that from a freight market standpoint, global container trade already struggles with structural overcapacity and declining spot rates on major east/west trade routes. Xeneta data shows that average spot rates between the Far East and US East Coast and to North Europe have declined by more than 50 Should other carriers follow CMA CGMs lead and redeploy vessels through Suez, there is a danger that capacity could expand while demand remains subdued, potentially driving rates lower and placing additional pressure on carrier profitability. Under this context, the ASL Bauhinia incident serves as a reminder that security and environmental risk will increasingly determine strategic routing decisions of container lines operating along Red Sea and wider Suez corridor.