On Jan. 16, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, two of the world's leading shipping companies, announced they did not see an immediate return to the Red Sea after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was announced.

A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd told Reuters that the company is closely monitoring the conflict in the Red Sea and wants to resume operations as soon as they are safe. 

"The agreement has only just been reached. We will closely analyze the latest developments and their impact on the security situation in the Red Sea," the spokesperson told Reuters.

"It is still too early to speculate about timing," a Maersk spokesperson said.

Hapag-Lloyd had already flagged in June that a ceasefire would not mean an immediate resume of passage through the Suez Canal, as attacks from Yemen-based Houthi militants, could still be possible.

Rearranging the schedule would take between four and six weeks, a company spokesperson said at the time.

Disruptions in the Middle East have caused shipping companies to divert their vessels towards longer routes. These companies often force their container ships around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, pushing freight rates higher and disrupting global ocean shipping.