MSC cancels World Cruise segment through Red Sea due to security concerns

MSC Cruises has adjusted the itinerary for its 2024 World Cruise aboard MSC Poesia due to the security problems in the Red Sea. 

MSC Poesia departed Genoa, Italy today and was meant to transit the Suez Canal and call in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea before exploring the coast of East Africa.

Instead, the ship will now cruise the west coast of Africa and then visit ports in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean as planned.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked and hijacked several merchant vessels in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, raising concerns of a wider impact on the cruise sector, which has already been significantly affected by the wider conflict.

MSC Cruises sales manager Gianni Pilato emphasizes that the ship will still make most of the stops.

“The safety of passengers and crew is in the first place for our company, so we necessarily had to make changes to avoid the passage in the Red Sea,” Pilato told the Italian media outlet ANSA. He noted however that, “Luckily, unliked fixed tourist structures, the ship can modify the itineraries at will.”

MSC reports that 2,300 passengers from 57 countries, predominantly Italian, French, German, American, and Chinese, are aboard the ship, which will visit 50 destinations in 31 countries. 

MSC Cruises is one of the first cruise line’s to alter itineraries due to the security situation in the Red Sea. Last year when the Israeli-Gaza war broke out, it cancelled its planned cruise season out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have been fighting a years-long insurgency against the internationally-recongised government of the country, but have only recently begun targeting vessels in the Red Sea, apparently in response to the invasion of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces.

That invasion was in response to a surprise attack on Israel launched by Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and led to the deaths of more than 1,000 Israeli citizens, including many women and children.

Most cruises, including other world cruises, are not currently due to transit the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, as cruise ships had already repositioned to the Middle East before the security situation deteriorated

Most cruise ships operating in the Middle East are based in Dubai at this time of the year, sailing roundtrip itineraries in the Arabian Gulf. If the security situation in the Red Sea remains uncertain by the end of the Middle East cruise season in April, cruise lines may be forced to reposition their ships via Asia.

Just one cruise ship, Silversea Cruises’ Silver Moon is currently repositioning through the Red Sea. The cruise departed January 6th from Aqaba, Jordan and is due to call in Yanbu and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before cruising through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb to Muscat. At the time of writing, Silversea had announced no plans to the ship’s intended itinerary.