A spokesman for the German shipping container company Hapag-Lloyd told Reuters on Friday that the company will continue to divert its ships from the Suez Canal for security reasons.
The spokesman added that the next assessment of the situation will take place on January 2.
More than a week ago, the German company said that it would change the course of 25 of its ships until the end of this year to avoid sailing in the Red Sea.
A ship belonging to the company was attacked near Yemen on December 15 on its way to Singapore.
This month, major shipping companies such as Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk stopped using routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to the Houthi group’s targeting of ships heading to Israel to pressure the entry of aid to the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, after the occupation prevented its entry following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. This caused great damage to global trade.
These companies began to divert ships to the Cape of Good Hope route to avoid attacks, which increased the fees required from customers, and added days or weeks to the time of transporting goods from Asia to Europe and to the eastern coast of North America.
The CEO of the Israeli port of Eilat, Gideon Golber, had previously stated that the port’s activity had declined by 85% since the Houthis in Yemen intensified their attacks on ships heading to Israel in the Red Sea.
About 10% of oil trade and 8% of liquefied gas trade pass through the Suez Canal, including about two-thirds of crude oil coming from the Gulf region.
About 30% of the world’s shipping containers pass daily through the Suez Canal – which is 193 kilometers long – and about 12% of the total global trade of all goods.
The share of goods coming from the south of the canal – crossing the Bab el-Mandab Strait – amounts to about 47% of the volume of goods transiting the Suez Canal, according to statistics from the Suez Canal Authority.
In addition, about 98% of goods and ships coming from the south of the Suez Canal in Egypt pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in Yemen.