Chaos in the Red Sea is growing: Ship traffic decreased by 20 percent with the change of routes

Ship traffic in the Red Sea decreased by 20 percent in December 2023, as shipping companies suspended their voyages or shifted their routes to the Cape of Good Hope after the Houthis in Yemen attacked commercial ships “linked to Israel” in the Red Sea.

According to the data obtained by the AA correspondent from the ship tracking and maritime analysis provider MarineTraffic, following the attacks of the Houthis in Yemen on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, ship traffic will increase noticeably, especially in the second half of December 2023, as many shipping companies decided to stop their voyages here. decreased.

The most effective factor in the decrease in traffic in the Red Sea was that container ships stopped passing through the Red Sea and changed their routes to the Cape of Good Hope.

According to MarineTraffic data, the number of container ships passing through the Red Sea in December 2023 decreased by 25 percent compared to the number of ships in December 2022.

During this period, while the number of ro-ro ships passing through the Red Sea decreased by 25 percent, there was no significant change in the number of liquefied natural gas, LPG, dry and wet cargo ships.

After the Houthis in Yemen attacked ships “linked to Israel” in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, the Danish shipping company Maersk, the world’s largest container company, the Italian-Swiss joint Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd. , French shipping company CMA CGM and British energy company bp decided to suspend their voyages in the region.

While the number of ships traveling in the Red Sea was 646 on December 1, this number increased to 681 on December 16. The total number of daily ships in the Red Sea dropped to 521 on 31 December.

While ship traffic refers to the total number of ships present and sailing in the area in question on a daily basis, the total number of ships using the Red Sea throughout the month means that each ship entering is counted once.

Passages through the Cape of Good Hope increased by 27 percent

According to data from UK-based maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence, ship traffic slowed down by 20 percent during the month, with a sharp decline in the week of December 25-31.

After the transit of container ships in the Red Sea was directed to the Cape of Good Hope, there was a 27 percent increase in ship passages through the Cape of Good Hope in the week of December 25-31 compared to the previous week.

Taiwanese container shipping company Evergreen and Hong Kong-based OOCL suspended deliveries to Israeli ports. Maersk and MSC’s deliveries to Israeli ports continue.

In a statement made on January 5, after one of its ships was attacked by the Houthis, Maersk stated that it was decided that all ships that will pass through the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden will be directed south around the Cape of Good Hope in the near future.

Data analytics company Vortexa Senior Freight Analyst Ioannis Papadimitriou told the AA correspondent that the number of tankers over 10 thousand DWT, which are most likely to do international trade, and passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, will increase by 15 percent in the second half of December 2023 compared to the first half. He said that there was a significant decrease.

Papadimitriou stated that the passages through the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandep Strait were higher in December 2023 compared to the same month of the previous year, and said, “However, this is normal because the traffic of the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandeb Strait increased on an annual basis. This increase is “It was caused by the change in trade routes after the embargo imposed by the European Union and G7 countries on Russian oil. However, we see some decrease in ship traffic in the first half and second half of December 2023.” he said.

12 percent of global trade goes through the Suez Canal

While approximately 12 percent of global trade is carried out through the Suez Canal, more than 50 ships pass through the canal every day, carrying approximately 10 billion dollars of goods to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the eastern coasts of North America.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which formed a part of the connection between the Mediterranean and East Asia with the construction of the Suez Canal in the north of Egypt, is in a critical position, especially in terms of oil supply transported by sea. 10 percent of the world’s seaborne crude oil and petroleum products supply is made through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Changing the route of the ships to the Cape of Good Hope in the south of Africa means extending the travel time by 10-14 days and covering 4 thousand nautical miles (6 thousand 500 kilometers) more. Such a longer journey generates extra fuel costs of around a million dollars, while insurance costs and delivery time also increase.