Developing Situation In The Red Sea

Following at least two more attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea on Friday, both Maersk and CMA CGM paused all ships heading through the region over the weekend. Since then, they have taken the decision to route vessels around Africa, as have at least two other carriers, with more expected to follow.

On Friday, a Hapag Lloyd vessel was hit by a missile that was reportedly launched from an occupied region of Yemen.

We understand that over 100 ships have either been paused and delayed, or already rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, which adds around 10-12 days to transit times for Asia/European imports and exports.

There are also reports that the US are moving several warships to the region to assist with this developing threat.

Last week, we reported on our website that this, along with the drought conditions at the Panama Canal, pose the biggest threat to supply chains for the beginning of next year, and that appears to have been confirmed by this developing situation.

The Atlantic Pacific team are closely monitoring the situation. If you are concerned about urgent shipments then please do not hesitate to contact one of our team.

*Image courtesy of Fotokon – stock.adobe.com.