Red Sea Attacks Continue To Impact Ocean Freight

There seems to be no immediate signs of respite for global supply chains, as attacks on container ships in the Red Sea have continued this week.

Two US flagged container ships were attacked on Wednesday, while being part of a naval convoy, and were forced to flee the region. The Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake were targeted by a host of missiles, despite being escorted by the the US warship USS Gravely.

There are reportedly 22 naval ships patrolling the Red Sea, but this has not been a deterrent to Houthi rebels. Last week, President Biden admitted that even the airstrikes carried out by the UK & US have not been preventing attacks.

With the situation still extremely volatile, carriers are likely to continue diverting sailings around the Cape Of Good Hope for the foreseeable future, a decision which has sent rates spiralling and led to major capacity and equipment shortages during the past few weeks.

We understand that more capacity is being added to the market during the first quarter, but it will undoubtedly take a while to position and align ships. Therefore, we are anticipating that space and equipment shortages may get worse before they get better, and rates may continue to rise beyond Chinese New Year.

The Atlantic Pacific team are monitoring the situation closely. If you require further information on the above, then please do not hesitate to contact us.