Several global shipping giants have announced that they are suspending the passage of their ships through the Red Sea, a major trade route, after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Latest: the giant CMA CGM, the leading French maritime carrier, announced on Saturday December 16 that it was suspending crossings of the Red Sea. The group has “decided to order all CMA CGM container ships in the region, which must pass through the Red Sea, to reach safe zones” or not to leave waters deemed safe, “with immediate effect and until further notice”according to a communicated. “The situation continues to deteriorate and security concerns are increasing”asserts CMA CGM to justify its decision.
On Friday, the Danish giant Maersk and the German Hapag-Lloyd announced a similar decision, the first ” until further notice “ and the second at least until Monday.
Bypass of Africa
Once again on Friday, a container ship from the world leader in maritime transport MSC, the MSC Palatium III, was hit by a ballistic missile, according to Centcom. The attack was claimed by the Houthis.
The MSC group clarified on Saturday that no crew member had been injured. The ship suffered “limited damage due to fire” and summer “decommissioned”. MSC adds, however, that“Due to this incident and to protect the lives and safety of our sailors, until passage through the Red Sea is safe, MSC ships will not transit the Suez Canal”. “Already, certain services will be rerouted to pass through the Cape of Good Hope”in the very south of Africa, indicates MSC.
This bypass of Africa will considerably lengthen the journeys: to connect Rotterdam to Singapore, the detour extends the journey by 40%, going from approximately 8,400 nautical miles (15,550 km) to 11,720 miles (21,700 km), according to S&P Global.
Several ships, notably from Maersk and MSC, have already taken this route in recent days, details the firm. MSC asks its customers to do “proof of understanding in these serious circumstances”.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is calling for its part “states with influence in the region” to strive “urgently to put an end to the actions of the Houthis who attack sailors and merchant ships, and to defuse what now constitutes an extremely serious threat to international trade”.
“Highway of the sea”
According to the London-based ICS, 12% of world trade normally passes through the Red Sea. The organization adds that avoiding the Red Sea involves additional costs and delays which penalize the sector and the flow of trade.
According to S&P, more carriers are now charging additional risk premiums for these routes.
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The Red Sea is a “sea highway” connecting the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and therefore Europe to Asia. Around 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal each year, the entry and exit point for ships passing through the Red Sea.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have increased attacks near the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa and through which 40% of international trade passes.
Several missiles and drones were shot down by US and French warships patrolling the area. Also on Saturday, the US military Middle East Command (Centcom) announced that a US destroyer operating in the Red Sea had shot down 14 drones launched from “areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis”. The Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Grant Shapps, announced that the British destroyer HMS Diamond had shot down during the night from Friday to Saturday a “suspected attack drone that targeted merchant shipping in the Red Sea”.
Yemeni rebels, close to Iran, have warned that they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.