More grain ships diverted from Suez Canal to sail around the Cape of Good Hope this week, after attacks on ships in the Red Sea, shipping industry analysts said on Friday.
In the last weeks, Houthi rebels, allies of Iran – a regional power and rival of Israel – intensified their attacks near the Bab al Mandeb Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza. These attacks led to United States to create a multinational maritime protection force in the Red Sea, named Prosperity Guardian.
Confirmation of the diversion of ships in the Red Sea
“The diversion of another 16 vessels was confirmed this week, bringing total diverted grain shipments to about 3.9 million tonnes, up from 3.0 million tonnes last week,” said Ishan Bhanu, agricultural commodities analyst at data provider Kpler. .
About 7 million metric tons of grain shipments They normally transit the Suez Canal to the Red Sea every month.
Houthi rebel attacks on shipping
The continuous attacks against maritime transport by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, despite US-led bombings against the group’s positions in Yemen, caused more bulk carriers to avoid the Red Sea. The Houthiswho control much of Yemen, launched drone and missile attacks on ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The justification of the Houthi rebels
The Houthis say that were attacking ships that had Israeli ties or were sailing to Israel.
“Many of the Diverted ships carry cargoes of US grain and are cautious with this freight,” Bhanu said.
“A ship that sailed from the United States Gulf bound for China “It actually transited the Suez Canal in a southerly direction, but stopped for 11 days before heading north again and transiting the canal in a northerly direction, and then passing through Gibraltar.”
Bulk ships still sailing through the Red Sea
However, a considerable number of bulk carriers still sail through the Red Sea, Bhanu said. He estimated that some 2.4 million tons of cereals will transit the Suez Canal in January, compared to 6.6 million tons in December 2023 and 6.4 million tons in January 2023.
“Previously chartered ships often sail through the Red Sea, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to book ships for new cargoes,” said a German grain trader. ““It’s obvious that airstrikes are not going to quickly stop the attacks.”
Source: Ambito
