Companies reroute more than 100 container ships from Suez Canal to avoid Houthi attacks
Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea.
More than 100 container ships were rerouted near southern Africa so that they could avoid the Suez Canal. The step was taken amid global trade facing disruption due to attacks on vessels on Yemen’s western coast by the Houthi rebels.
The shipping company Kuehne and Nagel stated that they have identified 103 container ships which already changed their course and more of those ships are likely to go around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The diversion has added nearly 6,000 nautical miles to a typical journey of a container ship from Europe to Asia, which approximately extends the product delivery time by three or four weeks.
The Houthi rebels, who have remained aligned with Iran, have stated that the ships were attacked by them in response to bombardment by Israel over Gaza.
On Tuesday (Dec 19), the United States said that they would try leading a naval condition for protecting shipping in the Suez Canal.
The ships, which have diverted so far, had the capacity of carrying 1.3m 20ft (6-metre) containers, said Kuehne and Nagel. Few gas and oil tankers have also been diverted, with BP emerging as the biggest company to publicly state that it has taken the step.
The disruption in container ships' routes has contributed to inflation in oil prices.
Kuehne and Nagel’s board member for sea logistics Michael Aldwell said: “The extended time spent on the water is anticipated to absorb 20% of the global fleet capacity, leading to potential delays in the availability of shipping resources. Moreover, delays in returning empty equipment to Asia are likely to pose challenges, further impacting the overall reliability of supply chains.”
Shipping giants go dark in Red Sea
Meanwhile, other merchant ships - crossing the important global trade route in the Red Sea - have turned off their tracking signals to escape attacks.
Watch:Houthi attacks start shutting down Red Sea merchant shipping
Many container ships have gone dark in the Red Sea and have adopted measures for concealing their locations amid increasing attacks by Houthi rebels.
In a few cases, ships have broadcasted their destination as "ARMED GUARD ON BOARD," as per data on tracking websites.
(With inputs from agencies)