RR The Wire 1630Z January 06, 2024

PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RR

DTG: 163006Z JAN 24

ICOD: 153006Z JAN 24

CONTROLS: Public Release

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BLUF: MAERSK AGAIN SUSPENDS SHIPPING IN RED SEA.

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-International Events-

Red Sea/HOA: Following the successful attack on the M/V HANGZHOU last week, Maersk announced a temporary pause of shipping through the Red Sea. Overnight, Maersk has announced an indefinite extension to the shipping pause in response to the realization that OPN PROSPERITY GUARDIAN is not effective, despite best efforts.

AC: This strongly indicates what has been obvious for several days; that Maersk never seriously committed to returning traffic to the Red Sea, and instead gaslit investors into thinking that everything was fine. The fact that one of their first ships to resume travel was successfully struck with a cruise missile also indicates that naval forces in the region are not capable of providing enough missile defense to make travel viable for commercial shipping. Though details are hard to verify, Amazon, Walmart, and IKEA are among the companies already reportedly experiencing supply shortages due to the logistical problems created by the Red Sea Crisis.

-HomeFront-

USA: SECDEF Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Monday following alleged complications from an unknown elective procedure. This was disclosed to the public last night, approximately four days after the event first occurred. No further details are available at this time.

CA: Alaskan Airlines Flight 1282 bound for Ontario, California experienced an uncontrolled depressurization incident when one of the aircraft doors blew out mid-flight. No word yet on any passenger injuries. 

Analyst Comments:

Though rapid depressurization incidents are rare, this incident is even more concerning as the aircraft was a Boeing 737-9 MAX, and is one of the newer aircraft in Alaska’s fleet. In response to this high-profile incident, Alaska has announced the grounding of all 737 MAX 9 aircraft in their fleet. As a reminder, Boeing’s 737 MAX program has been fraught with controversy over the past 2-3 years following multiple fatal crashes (most of which involved the new MCAS system, and not structural integrity issues). In November of 2020, the FAA revoked Boeing’s authority to issue certificates of airworthiness for this model of aircraft. Boeing was also fined by the FAA in 2021 for “exerting undue pressure” on aircraft inspectors.

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Analyst: S2A

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