More than 100 ships have already bypassed the Red Sea — Photo: Bloomberg
Over the weekend, the number of ships transiting the Suez Canal fell to the lowest level since the Ever Given container ship ran aground and blocked the passage in 2021.
By Alex Longley and Anna Shiryaevskaya, Bloomberg
Container shipping is set to hit a crisis ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea restrict capacity, a leading industry consultant has said.
Over the weekend, the number of ships transiting the Suez Canal fell to the lowest level since the Ever Given container ship ran aground and blocked the passage in 2021, according to Inchcape Shipping Services. This drop is another sign of the widespread impact of the disturbance on world trade, an impact that is expected to persist in the period leading up to the Lunar New Year.
“Today there is a certain panic in China regarding the availability of capacity,” said Damas. “The next five weeks until Chinese New Year on February 10 will be very difficult for freight companies and shipping itself.” He noted that costs could decrease after that.
Militants from Yemen's Houti movement, which is supported by Iran, have been firing drones and missiles at ships passing through the country's waters, causing disruption to world trade. They say their targets are ships that have links to Israel, as a way of protesting the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip – although there are frequent attacks on ships with little or no connection to Israel. As a result, much of the world's shipping traffic has chosen to avoid the canal and sail around Africa.
For container ships, this is particularly important ahead of the Lunar New Year, when there is a surge in demand for cargo transportation ahead of the holiday season. Much of China closes during the holiday, which also causes greater levels of congestion at ports.
Drewry, which offers consultancy services to global shipping companies, estimates that up to 822 ships, equivalent to the capacity of around 10 million containers, were affected by the attacks and resulting diversions.
The impact of the attacks also gradually extends to other sectors. Earnings for ships carrying fuel from the Mediterranean to Asia have more than tripled since early December and reached their highest level in almost a year. Last week, brokerage and chartering company Braemar reported that costs for ships on any oil route involving the Red Sea are “on fire”.
SOURCE: https://valor.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2024/01/09/transporte-maritimo-da-sinais-de-panico-com-a-principal-via-comercial-sob-ameaca-dos- houthis.ghtml
