Severe weather conditions near the Cape of Good Hope this week have caused a complete suspension of container traffic, according to analysis conducted by LSEG Shipping Research.
Container shipping activity around the Cape of Good Hope has significantly increased this year due to efforts to avoid Middle East chokepoints amidst ongoing missile and drone attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea.
Since Monday, July 8th, daily transit and vessel location data from the LSEG Workspace Interactive Map indicate that no containerships have been able to pass through the Cape of Good Hope. This situation has compounded congestion and delays already worsened by the crisis in the Red Sea. The Interactive Map specifically highlights marine weather conditions featuring waves exceeding 10 meters in height.
We have a complete stop at the Cape of Good Hope for containerships – east and west. There is no significant change in Red Sea traffic so far, but several containerships have made turnarounds and/or are waiting off the coast of Durban.
….said Fabrice Maille, Global Head of Shipping & Agriculture at LSEG.
Isaac Hankes, Senior Weather Analyst at LSEG, noted that the waves off the South African coast coincided with a strong cyclone that impacted the region last Sunday, accompanied by temperatures well below normal.
This was a powerful cyclone (with winds that generated the waves), but we are not seeing anything extraordinary in the data. Something comparable happened in early June, for example. These events are like a cold air outbreak in the South African winter, in the Northern Hemisphere context.
…Hankes said.
