On December 16, shipowners MSC and CGA-CGM announced that they would no longer sail their vessels through the Bab el Mandeb Strait due to an increase in Houthi attacks in the region. The day before, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had also made the same decision. Additionally, MSC announced the suspension of its Suez Canal crossings.
The four shipowners have requested their customers’ patience in light of the current situation, where sea journeys between Asia and Europe will be lengthened due to ships passing through the Cape of Good Hope.
These decisions were made in response to the recent increase in attacks on merchant vessels transiting the southern Red Sea.
This has a significant impact on maritime trade, as 12% of the world’s maritime traffic passes through this area annually, representing an average daily flow of 50 ships. Bypassing Africa can increase journey times by an average of fifteen days, depending on the destination.
Some experts in world logistics are concerned that a new crisis may be imminent due to longer lead times, port congestion, especially in Asia, and a significant increase in freight rates.
