The world’s two leading shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, announced that they will continue to sail around Africa, avoiding the Red Sea area. Freight rates are expected to continue to increase.
The supply chain has not yet stabilized
Shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said it will once again avoid transiting the Red Sea after another of its cargo ships was attacked within weeks.
On the website, Maersk expressed: “We have decided to temporarily suspend all trains crossing the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden until further notice.” The world’s second largest shipping corporation will detour to southern Africa.
Not long after allowing the ship to return to the Red Sea, on the last day of 2023, Maersk had to reverse course after Houthi rebels tried to attack the Maersk Hangzhou with four small boats.
In mid-December 2023, another cargo ship of this group, Maersk Gibraltar, was also unsuccessfully attacked.
Currently, including Maersk, two of the largest shipping companies on the planet have extended the temporary suspension of transit through the Red Sea, an important corridor leading to the Suez Canal.
Previously, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd announced it would continue to avoid the Red Sea. Shares of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd both skyrocketed due to the possibility that freight rates will increase in the near future, Bloomberg record.
Iran sent warships to the Red Sea
Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they were targeting merchant ships passing through the Red Sea with connections to Israel, with the aim of punishing Tel Aviv for the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Pentagon, in one month since November, the Houthis hijacked a container ship and conducted more than 100 attacks with drones and ballistic missiles targeting 10 merchant ships involving more than 35 countries. different families.
Operation Guardian of Prosperity, with the participation of the US Navy and 9 other countries, began on December 19. The group just had an encounter with Houthi rebels last weekend.
Earlier this week, Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea after the US navy destroyed three ships of the Houthi force.
According to Bloombergthe above move could increase tensions in the region and make it more difficult for the US campaign to protect vital sea routes.
Iranian state media said the Alborz destroyer had arrived at the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, a narrow choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. However, they did not provide further information about the ship’s mission.
The Suez Canal is one of the most important sea routes for global trade.
Developments in the Red Sea are threatening the Suez Canal, the sea route that transports about 12% of the world’s goods.
This artificial sea route is 193 km long, cutting through Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. This is a key transit point for cargo ships traveling between Asia, Europe and the eastern United States.
According to GlobalSecurity.org, the train time from start to finish of Suez is about 13 – 15 hours. Without Suez, a supertanker carrying crude oil from the Middle East to Europe would have to travel an additional 9,650 km around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope as well as incur additional fuel costs of about $300,000.
According to the Suez Canal Authority, in 2019, this sea route transported a total of 1.03 billion tons of goods – 4 times higher than the Panama Canal.
Suez transships everything from crude oil, coffee soluble to garments, including 4.5% of crude oil, 9% of refined products, 8% of global LNG. In addition, Suez allows 54.1 million tons of grain, 53.5 million tons of ores and metals, and 35.4 million tons of coal to pass through each year.
According to VietnamBiz.vn
