Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels have altered their courses to avoid the Red Sea region due to ongoing attacks by Houthis.
As Reuters reports, companies like BP and Equinor have rerouted vessels or paused transits. Four LNG vessels, including Celsius Copenhagen and Cool Runner, have adjusted routes to avoid passing by Yemen, impacting shipments and trade routes.
Some 12% of world trade goes through the Suez Canal, and 5 percent through the Panama Canal. According to Bloomberg, when shipping companies avoid the canals, they often must spend millions of dollars more on fuel for ships to take longer routes.
Sailing from Asia to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Suez Canal is a diversion that would lengthen the journey from Singapore to Rotterdam in the Netherlands by 3,300 miles, or nearly 40%, Bloomberg adds.
Rerouting will have a significant impact on tours of duty in the global supply chain, but most importantly it will reduce the risks to seafarers that the Red Sea currently brings.
… International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said in a recent statement
Maritime companies and organisations are keeping a close eye and monitoring the situation. Yesterday, the US launched the Operation Prosperity Guardian, bringing together multiple countries to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
