The western media is portraying that Houthis attack any ship passing through the Southern Red Sea. Therefore, the ship operators are rerouting vessels via the Cape of Good Hope.
According to the most recent poll conducted by Seatrade Maritime News when the respondents were asked, are some ship owners and charterers right in risking continuing to transit the Red Sea given the threat of attack?
The response to the question was very evenly split with 53% voting ‘yes’ they were right to continue transiting the Red Sea, while 47% said ‘no’ they should not transit the Red Sea.
The results in many ways mirror the industry’s reaction which has varied significantly by sector. Around two-thirds of all container ships have diverted via the Cape of Good Hope, with CMA CGM joining other top lines in this decision over the weekend. Similarly, LNG carrier transits of the Suez Canal 73% in January 2024 compared to November 2023, according to figures published by Kpler.
However, when compared tanker and dry bulk ship transits of the Suez Canal between January 2024 and November 2023 these reduced by just 23% and 27% respectively over the same period.
There would appear no resolution to the attacks on commercial shipping in the near term as the conflict in Gaza continues and Houthi rebels vowing to continue to strike at vessels with either Israeli links or cargoes.
This leaves it down to individual ship owners, operators, and charterers to weigh the risk to vessels, crew and cargoes of continuing to transit the Red Sea
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