by Florence Tan and Lisa Barrington
(Reuters) – A number of container ships have anchored in the Red Sea and others have disabled their tracking systems as shipping companies change their routes and prices due to attacks by the Houthis of Yemen, allies of Iran, against the main trade route between Asia and Europe.
The firing of missiles, drones or boarding attempts in recent days targeting commercial boats sailing in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say are linked to Israel, have prompted the United States to announce the creation of a multinational force responsible for ensure freedom of movement off the coast of Yemen.
The route via the Suez Canal constitutes the shortest maritime route between Europe and Asia and accounts for some 12% of global maritime traffic.
Faced with the risks incurred by their ships, the main maritime freight companies, such as the Danish Maersk, the Italian-Swiss MSC, the French CMA CGM or the German Hapag Lloyd have announced changes of itineraries for some of their ships which will have to cross the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa. Oil groups like BP have done the same.
At least 11 container ships that passed through the Suez Canal carrying consumer goods and grain destined for countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates have also dropped anchor in the Red Sea, between the coasts of Sudan and Saudi Arabia, rather than risk passage through the Bab al Mandeb Strait at the tip of Yemen, according to LSEG ship tracking data.
Four MSC container ships sailing in the Red Sea have turned off their transponders since December 17, probably to avoid detection, according to the same data.
Some ships are trying to hide their positions as they approach Yemen by sending requests suggesting they are in another location, noted Ioannis Papadimitriou, cargo analyst at Vortexa.
Maersk on Friday suspended all container shipments via the Red Sea following a “near miss” involving its ship Maersk Gibraltar a day earlier. A number of vessels anchored in the Red Sea are Maersk vessels, according to LSEG data.
NO MAJOR IMPACT EXPECTED
The Danish shipping company said on Tuesday that its ships crossing the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden would be diverted to Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, to avoid the Suez Canal.
“Until (security is restored in the Red Sea), routing ships via the Cape of Good Hope will deliver faster and more predictable results for our customers and their supply chains,” he said. Maersk.
The Houthis, who are part of the “axis of resistance” against Israel promoted by Iran, justify their attacks in the Red Sea by their support for the Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip.
They claim to only target ships belonging to Israelis or trading with Israel, even if this does not seem to have been the case of all the boats targeted.
The impact of this crisis on world trade is still difficult to assess. According to industry sources, the lengthening of routes and the rise in insurance premiums could have a rapid effect on the price of certain goods.
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs on Monday judged it unlikely that the disruption to traffic in the Red Sea would have significant effects on the prices of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as ships could take another route.
“We estimate that a hypothetical prolonged redirection of the entire flow of 7 million barrels of crude oil per day would increase crude spot prices relative to long-term prices by $3 to $4 per barrel,” it said. investment banking.
Some tanker owners are inserting a new clause to include a “Cape of Good Hope” option in their shipping contracts as a precautionary measure, shipbrokers said.
A source close to the Cainiao logistics arm of China’s Alibaba warned that delivery times could be slightly longer and shipping costs a little higher, but estimated that overall the change in route of container ships should have little impact on activity.
(With Trixie Yap and Naveen Thukral in Singapore, Yousef Saba in Dubai, Casey Hall in Shanghai, Diana Mandiá and Tangi Salaün, edited by Kate Entringer and Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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