Recently, despite Maersk testing the Red Sea route, leading global freight forwarders including DHL, DSV, and Kuehne+Nagel remain cautious. DHL explicitly warned that if Red Sea shipping fully resumes without orderly arrangements, cargo delayed for months due to detours around Africa could flood into Europe simultaneously, causing temporary port paralysis.

In response, DHL has proposed four recommendations to customers on the Asia-Europe route: review inventory distribution, enhance demand forecasting, develop parallel transport routes, and adopt a multi-carrier strategy to mitigate risks from disruptions on any single route. This decentralized logistics approach is emerging as the mainstream response amid current geopolitical uncertainties.

Other freight forwarders have voiced similar concerns. DSV stated it has yet to engage in in-depth discussions with clients regarding service resumption; Kuehne+Nagel emphasized that the recovery process will be gradual and uneven, calling for enhanced supply chain transparency. Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd was forced to postpone plans to restart its India-US route due to client worries over insurance coverage.

Insurance issues remain a key obstacle. Although the Red Sea navigation surcharge has dropped from 2% to 0.2% of the vessel's value, certain areas like the Strait of Mandeb are still excluded from standard war risk coverage by multiple insurers. Companies like Hellmann are therefore temporarily not underwriting relevant segments.

Objectively speaking, while the Red Sea route significantly shortens shipping times, uncertainties regarding safety and costs remain unresolved. Until the geopolitical landscape becomes fully clear, diversified and flexible logistics solutions may prove more reliable than the pursuit of speed alone. For businesses concerned with “Asia-Europe logistics timelines,” “the impact of the Red Sea route's resumption,” or “new international cargo insurance regulations,” proactive planning far outweighs reactive measures.