Silversea to sail Silver Moon around Africa for India cruise, avoiding Red Sea

The ongoing tensions in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Bab Al Mandeb Strait will see Silver Moon repositioning to Mumbai, India via South Africa instead of the Suez Canal.

The ship will sail from Europe to India around Southern Africa, without passengers, and making only technical stops if necessary.

Silver Moon’s February 11th departure from Mumbai has been postponed until February 14th as a result, with passengers given three nights free accommodation in a five hotel in the city.

Silver Moon was due to sail from Dubai to Mumbai at the end of January, but that cruise was cancelled when Silversea decided to keep the ship north of the Bab Al Mandeb Strait to avoid the coast of Yemen, where Houthi militia have used drones and missiles to attack ships.

“Due to unforeseen geopolitical situations that have constrained Silver Moon’s ability to navigate through the south Red Sea from its previous voyage, the ship had to reposition back to Europe through the Suez Canal and is now circumnavigating Africa in the lead-up to its upcoming voyage, regrettably delaying arrival in Mumbai until Feb. 14, 2024,” the cruise line said in a statement.

All of the ports of call have been kept in the cruise’s new itinerary with the exception of Trincomalee, in Sri Lanka.

The cancellation of Silver Moon’s January 26th sailing from Dubai for Mumbai is the latest cruise from Dubai to be dropped due to the tensions in the Red Sea. MSC Cruises has cancelled all its repositioning cruises from Dubai to Europe and will instead sail for the Mediterranean via South Africa as well.

The moves by cruise lines to cancel transits through the Red Sea and Suez Canal mirror decisions being taken by container shipping lines, which have also begun rerouting ships around Southern Africa and the Cape of Good Hope.

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Bab Al Mandeb Strait in retaliation for Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is itself a response to the Hamas militant attacks on Israel on October 7th last year. 

The US and UK have launched airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen, but attacks on shipping in the Strait have continued. The Bab Al Mandeb Strait is a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, while the Red Sea provides access to the Suez Canal, one of the most important trade corridors in the world.