Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal fell 20 percent between December 24 and January 2 compared to the previous year, after shipping companies began rerouting ships in response to attacks by the Houthis in Yemen.
Shipping traffic in the Suez Canal dropped significantly due to attacks in the Red Sea. From December 15, when Maersk was the first shipper to announce the reroute, to January 2, the latest date for which the International Monetary Fund has data from the PortWatch platform, the number of tankers and cargo ships passing through the critical shipping lane fell by 10 percent. .
But seven-day averages began falling on December 24 as more shippers abandoned the key time- and fuel-saving route around Africa.
Hapag-Lloyd and MSC were among other large companies that announced that they changed the direction of their ships following missile and drone attacks by the pro-Iran Houthis.
The Suez Canal is a major source of dollar revenue for cash-strapped Egypt, but canal officials have not commented on any revenue losses.
The Houthis have attacked more than 20 ships since November 19, saying they were targeting ships with Israeli connections or going to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
However, most of the targeted ships had no connection to Israel and were not connected to Israeli ports.
The United States and other countries last month created a naval task force called Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect civilian ships. US warships shot down Houthi-fired weapons and sank Houthi speedboats on Sunday.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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