These attacks caused confusion in global trade and required the formation of a naval task force. The violence also restricted the passage of ships through the Suez Canal, through which about 12 percent of global trade passes.
The importance of the Grand Suez Canal is in transporting goods between Asia and Europe, but global shipping experts have warned that the confusion may spread around the world unless the ships, containers and other equipment necessary to change the course of goods on alternative routes and ports are available.
“The situation remains unstable, things may change quickly, which is why contingency plans, including Plan A, B and C, are necessary to maintain supply chains,” said Matthew Burgess, vice president of global ocean services at CH Robinson Worldwide. In motion.”
Hapag-Lloyd explained that it will change the course of 25 ships by the end of the year to avoid sailing in the Red Sea, with sea freight prices rising and shipping company shares rising due to the state of confusion. Avoiding the Red Sea and the Suez Canal means that ships take a much longer route around the continent of Africa.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen's territory, have been launching attacks for weeks on ships crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea in a move they say comes in response to Israel's war in Gaza.
At the same time, merchants are rushing to find alternative shipping routes to deliver goods to retail stores, and using the Cape of Good Hope road increases the journey time from approximately 10 to 14 additional days.
Orient Overseas Container Line told Reuters in a statement yesterday, Thursday, “Until this moment, we have directed the ships operated by the company to change course or suspend sailing to the Red Sea.” This is the first time that it has confirmed that sailings have been temporarily halted.
Christian Suhr, Executive Vice President of Sea Freight at Unique Logistics, explained that a crisis at one stage of the supply chain can cause ships to congest, leading to confusing arrival and departure schedules at seaports and cascading delays throughout the system.
The cost of shipping a container from China to the Mediterranean rose 44 percent in December to $2,413 due to the Red Sea turmoil, Fritos said this week.
If the conflict continues or intensifies, so-called “spot” rates for non-contracted freight “could two or three times higher than current levels,” Sur said.
IKEA International Furniture was among the companies that warned of possible shipment delays and product shortages. Finnish elevator company Kone also expected that some shipments could be delayed by two or three weeks.
While containerized goods such as clothing, toys and food are most at risk, other products are affected.
US soybean exporters, who were already shifting cargoes from the drought-stricken Panama Canal to the Suez Canal, are considering whether to start using West Coast-bound trains to reach ships heading directly to China and other Asian markets to avoid longer-distance alternative routes around America. South or Africa.
Analysts have warned that some retailers may start facing shortages of some goods by February although after the Covid-19 pandemic, more companies have sought flexibility in supply chains by purchasing from exporters in different regions.
“We have become more experienced after going through COVID,” Suhr said.
coalition
Greece said Thursday that it will send a navy frigate to the region to protect navigation as part of a multinational coalition announced by the United States to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Red Sea.
Greek shipowners control about 20 percent of the world's commercial ships in terms of tonnage capacity.
However, several countries that the United States said would join the coalition indicated that it was not expected to send a large naval force to the region, while the name of Saudi Arabia was not included in the list of participants.
The Houthi leader threatened to escalate attacks to include US Navy ships, which increases expectations of an expansion of the scope of the conflict around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
A Hapag-Lloyd spokesman said that the company's ship Al-Jasra was attacked near Yemen on December 15 while heading to Singapore, and that the company will make further decisions about the routes by the end of the year.
The spokesman indicated that the company has not yet received any detailed information about the maritime alliance.
Shipping officials said that stabilizing vital waterways would be necessary to ensure that shipping traffic fully resumed.
The consequences of the disturbance in maritime shipping traffic directly affected Israel. Orient Overseas Container Line said last Saturday that “due to operational problems” it would stop accepting any shipments to and from Israel until further notice.
The CEO of the Port of Eilat said on Thursday that the port, located in the far south of Israel, has witnessed an 85 percent decline in its activity since the Houthis intensified their attacks.
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