COPENHAGEN - ‍Danish shipping company Maersk announced on Friday ​that one of its vessels successfully navigated the ⁠Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the ⁠first time in ‌nearly two years, though it currently has no plans to fully ⁠reopen the route.

Maersk began diverting vessels away from the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea around the Cape of ⁠Good Hope in January ​2024 after Yemen's Houthi militants attacked ships in the area ‍in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Maersk said in a ​statement on Friday that one of its vessels, Maersk Sebarok, had made the transit on Thursday and Friday.

"Whilst this is a significant step forward, it does not mean that we are at a point where we are considering a wider East-West network change back ⁠to the trans-Suez corridor," it said.

It, ‌however, said that it was considering continuing a "stepwise approach" towards resuming passage. ‌There ⁠are currently no additional planned sailings, it added.

(Reporting by ⁠Stine Jacobsen, editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)