Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have cut box throughput in the region by 90% and, amid escalating insurance costs, it seems it will take more than naval support to lure carriers back to the region any time soon.
DIA report
According to a US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, re-routing vessels around Africa has added some 11,000 nautical miles and $1m in fuel costs to voyages, but from a financial perspective, this compares favourably with taking Red Sea routes in crisis conditions.
To date, the report notes, “at least” 65 countries have been affected by the attacks, well outside the Houthis purported scope and indicative of the Iran-backed rebels’ inability to differentiate between targets and non-targets.
In that time, more than a dozen commercial vessels have been hit in drone and missile attacks, with UK-owned cargo ship Rubymar being sunk in March, while in November the rebels claimed to have seized the Israel-linked Galaxy Leader.
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Source: Loadstar
