Red Sea attacks disrupt world trade, more ships vow to avoid waters
Red Sea, the latest shipping companies to do so after attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on vessels disrupted global trade, prompting the establishment of a naval task force.
The hostilities have put a chokehold on ship passages through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of worldwide trade. The Suez Canal is most vital to the movement of goods between Asia and Europe, but global logistics executives warned that sending ships on alternate routes could roil global supply chains, causing backups at ports and shortages of vessels, containers and equipment that are suddenly in the wrong place.
«The situation remains fluid, things could change quickly, which is why contingency plans that include a plan A, B and C are critical to keeping supply chains moving,» said Matthew Burgess, vice president of global ocean services at C.H.
Robinson Worldwide.
Hapag-Lloyd said it would reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway as freight rates and shipping stocks have increased because of the disruption. Avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal means following a far longer route around Africa.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have been attacking ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea for weeks in what they say is a response to Israel's war in Gaza.
Traders are meanwhile scrambling to find workarounds, including air flights, to get consumer goods to retailers, with journeys around Africa adding roughly 10-14 days extra to voyage times.
«Up to this moment, we have guided OOCL-operated vessels to either divert route or suspend sailing to Red Sea,» Hong Kong-headquartered container group OOCL told Reuters in a statement on Thursday, the first time it had
