Many shipping companies continued to avoid the Red Sea for fear of being exposed to harm as a result of the Yemeni Houthi group threatening Israeli ships or those carrying Israeli goods, in support of the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to continuous Israeli aggression for more than 3 months, and instead took the Cape of Good Hope route, which… It costs more time and wages.
A spokesman for the German company “Hapag-Lloyd” (the fifth largest container ship company in the world) announced on Tuesday that the company will continue to avoid the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and divert its ships towards the Cape of Good Hope route in southern Africa, attributing the matter to security reasons.
The spokesman said, “We consider that the situation is still dangerous. We re-evaluate the matter on a daily basis, and we will take the following decisions on Monday, January 15.”
Two days ago, media reported that the giant state-owned Chinese shipping company COSCO had stopped sailing to Israeli ports.
The Chinese company – which is the fourth largest container shipping line in the world and contributes about 11% of global trade – explained that it took this step due to escalating tensions in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.
COSCO’s decision is considered sensitive to Israel because it cooperates with the Israeli shipping line “Zim”, which will have to operate more ships on Far East routes, which may lead to higher sea shipping costs with a shortage of ships.
The Israeli Ministry of Transport said today that it is trying to clarify COSCO’s decision regarding the reported halt of shipping to Israel.
facts
In the face of tension in the Red Sea, some shipping companies have instructed ships to sail instead around southern Africa, which is a slower and therefore more expensive route.
The following are the measures taken by companies:
“CH Robinson”
Global logistics group CH Robinson said on December 22 that it had rerouted more than 25 ships to sail around the Cape of Good Hope over the previous week, and that number is likely to continue to increase.
She added, “It is expected that traffic will continue to be canceled at ports or areas on ship routes and prices will rise for many trade movements in the first quarter of 2024.”
“CMA-CGM”
The French shipping group CMA-CGM said on January 5 that it had not changed its plans announced last December to gradually increase the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal.
The company previously changed the course of many ships to take the Cape of Good Hope route.
“Euronav”
The Belgian oil tanker company Euronav said on December 18 that it would avoid the Red Sea until further notice.
“Evergreen”
Taiwanese container shipping company Evergreen said on December 18 that its ships heading to Red Sea ports will sail to nearby safe waters pending further notice, while the course of ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea will be changed to the Cape of Good Hope route. Temporarily stopped accepting Israeli goods for transportation.
“Frontline”
The Front Line oil tanker group, based in Norway, said on December 18 that its ships would avoid passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“Gram Car Carriers”
The Norwegian shipping company Gram Car Carriers, which specializes in car truck carriers, said on December 21 that its ships will not pass through the Red Sea.
“Hapag-Lloyd”
The German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday that it has decided to continue avoiding the Red Sea, and will instead divert ships away from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope. The company will re-evaluate the situation again on the 15th of this month.
Hapag-Lloyd said that it incurred costs amounting to millions of euros during the period between 18 and 31 December last year as a result of the diversion of 25 ships due to tension in the Red Sea.
“Hmm”
The South Korean container shipping company HMM said on December 19 that it had ordered its ships that normally use the Suez Canal to reroute their route to the Cape of Good Hope.
“Hogue Autoliners”
The Norwegian shipping company Hoegh Autoliners said on December 20 that it would stop crossings in the Red Sea after the Norwegian Maritime Authority raised the alert level for the southern part of the sea to the highest level.
“Claves Combination Carriers”
Norway-based Klavenes Combination Carriers, a tanker fleet operator, said on December 28 that it was unlikely that any of its ships would sail in the Red Sea unless the situation improves.
“Maersk”
The Danish shipping group Maersk said on January 2 that all of its ships will continue to avoid the Red Sea route until further notice.
On December 31, the group suspended all sailing operations in the Red Sea for 48 hours after Houthi militants attacked the Maersk Hangzhou container ship.
Maersk diverted 4 of 5 southbound container ships on January 4, returning them to the Suez Canal for the long journey around Africa.
“MSC”
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on December 16 that its ships would not pass through the Suez Canal, and that it had already diverted some of them to the Cape of Good Hope, a day after two ballistic missiles were fired at one of its ships.
“Ocean Network Express”
Ocean Network Express (ONE), a Japanese joint venture between Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, said on December 19 that it had decided to reroute the ships away from… Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and instead its ships will sail around the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily stop their trips and move to safe areas.
“Orient Overseas Container Line”
Orient Overseas Container Line, based in Hong Kong, said on December 21 that it had ordered its ships to change course or stop sailing to the waters of the Red Sea.
The shipping company owned by Orient Overseas International Ltd. also stopped accepting goods to and from Israel until further notice.
“Linnaeus Wilhelmsen”
The Norwegian Linnaeus Wilhelmsen group said on December 19 that it would stop all its trips in the Red Sea until further notice.
The group stated that changing the routing of ships to the Cape of Good Hope will increase the journey time from one week to two weeks.
