Since November 2023, there has been an unprecedented shipping crisis in the marine route used by 30 per cent of the global container traffic which connects Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
As the Houthi rebels in Yemen launched multiple attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea demanding Israel to end the attacks in Gaza, the Red Sea navigation route is now deemed unsafe.
This comes on top of the chaos caused to the logistics industry with the Russia-Ukraine war, and the pandemic making things come to a halt causing congestions at ports and a shortage of shipping containers.
NAVIGATING AROUND THE RED SEA CRISIS
Commercial vessels looking to avoid the Red Sea crisis have opted to navigate around Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, while those who need quicker and safer deliveries have opted to rely on air shipments, though it is significantly more expensive.
However, some vessels take the risk and continue to use the Red Sea route simply by upping their security forces to be heavily armed on board as there was a crew kidnapping incident by the rebels.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE RED SEA CRISIS
The Red Sea crisis has had a wide-range of implications – affecting trade, energy, and economies. Environmental concerns due to increased CO2 emissions, sunken ships on the seabed, travelling via Cape of Good Hope means longer travel distance of an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 kilometres adding an average of 16-days travel time with significantly more fuel consumption. Operational costs have in turn shot up as well due to the longer route, the increased danger, and congestion at ports leading to business disruptions.
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