Additional grain vessels have been rerouted from the Suez Canal to take routes around the Cape of Good Hope the previous week due to ongoing apprehensions about attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Reuters highlights.
According to Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider and analyst Kpler, another 13 vessels were diverted this week taking the total cargo diverted away from the Red Sea route to around 5.2 million metric tons of grains in about 90 ships since the attacks started late last year.
Typically, the Suez Canal facilitates the transit of around 7 million tons of grain cargoes into the Red Sea each month. However, there has been a notable decline in bulk and other shipping activities due to persistent attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi militants, even in the face of U.S.-led airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen.
Almost all cargo originating in the Black Sea, mainly exports out of Russia and Romania, continues to travel through Suez and the Red Sea,” Bhanu said. “Only three such vessels diverted to take the longer route among dozens sailing.
..Ishan said.
Furthermore, ships in the Red Sea are utilizing the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to transmit messages, indicating their intent for safe passage and affirming their non-involvement in the Middle East conflict.
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