The Red Sea crisis is still in continuous fermentation.
The latest news, Yemeni Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement on January 22, the organization fired several missiles at a U.S. military cargo ship “Ocean Sir” in the Gulf of Aden and hit the ship.
Sarea said in the statement that the Houthis will continue to attack ships linked to Israel on the Red Sea route until Israel stops the fighting in Gaza and lifts the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Later, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command issued a news release saying that Yemeni Houthis’ claim of an attack on the U.S. cargo ship “Ocean Jazz” in the Gulf of Aden is false, and that the U.S. military has been in communication and liaison with the cargo ship, which is currently traveling safely.
On the same day, the United States and the United Kingdom again launched airstrikes on eight Houthi targets in Yemen.
Mohammed al-Bukhati, a member of the Houthi political leadership, told Russian media, “The stupidity of the United States and the United Kingdom is not in their favor: from now on, their ships will not be able to pass through one of the world’s main trade routes.” At the same time, he said, “For other countries, including China and Russia, their shipping in the region is not threatened. In fact, we are even prepared to ensure the safe passage of their ships through the Red Sea.”
As one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, the Suez Canal accounts for a third of global container traffic and 40 percent of Asia-Europe trade.
Trade between Europe and Asia came to a virtual standstill in 2021 when the Chang Chih blocked the Suez Canal for six days after running aground. And Maersk’s chief executive Vincent Clerc said last week that global shipping disruptions caused by attacks on ships in the Red Sea were likely to last at least a few months. This comes after shipping companies have decided to keep rounding the Cape of Good Hope, which has added nearly two to three weeks to round-trip voyages on the Asia-Europe line.
According to some Spanish media, the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea has awakened the specter of a supply crisis triggered by the new crown pandemic that has hit global trade.
Philip Damas, managing director of Drewry Shipping Consultants, said, “Volatility is back and this is a big moment for international container shipping.”
The average cost of shipping a 40-foot container around the world rose 23 percent to $3,777 in the week ended Jan. 18, Drewry data showed. And that price has more than doubled from a month ago. Spot market freight rates for containers from China to Los Angeles, U.S., rose 38 percent to $3,860 in the week ending Jan. 18th.
December-January is the peak of China’s exports to Europe and the United States, and the capacity gap may be disturbed around the Spring Festival. As of last Friday, the export container freight index compiled by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange soared 25.4 percent so far this year, compared with a 77 percent surge in December last year.
In California, the United States engaged in freight forwarding for many years in the United States line of experts Roger said, in the context of the Red Sea crisis, if you want to describe the current maritime business daily, no better than “one side of the ‘curse’, but also to order boxes.
Overall, he said, under this Red Sea crisis, various shipping companies have been waiting for a year for this (price hike program) due to the drop in shipping prices in 2023. “It’s definitely ‘taking advantage of the fire’, there’s no doubt about it. But at this juncture, any increase in its rates is unwelcome. If the hike succeeds, only the shipping company side will have a better time, but foreign trade and forwarders, at least at this stage, will not be able to make any money because there has not been any change in foreign trade demand.”
Nick Marro, chief analyst for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said, “We are unlikely to see prices return to the highs witnessed in 2021-22 at the height of the supply chain disruption.”
Marro says: “At least in terms of the near-term outlook, rising transportation costs and delays in the production of key components needed, particularly for European companies sourcing from Asia, look likely to continue …… But in reality, the main factor here will be how the Red Sea security situation develops.”
Post time: Jan-25-2024