Recently, the situation in the Red Sea has suddenly become tense, a number of international shipping giants have announced detours, and the US military has even formed a multinational force to cruise the Red Sea.
As one of the world's most important shipping lanes, what kind of dilemma does this long and narrow waterway face?
The Red Sea attacks continued
The "lifeline" of shipping is in crisis
As an important waterway on the global shipping route, the Red Sea, which together with the Suez Canal constitutes the "Eurasian Water Channel", is one of the busiest waterways in the world, and nearly 12% of the world's ** passes through here. For the global energy, material and other chains, the Red Sea can be described as a "lifeline".
But since November 2023, this "lifeline" has not been peaceful. In order to cooperate with Hamas's operations, Yemen's Houthi rebels suddenly expanded the scope of their strikes, launching multiple attacks on merchant ships passing through the Red Sea, and tensions in the Red Sea increased.
For merchant ships with insufficient self-defense capabilities, the best way to avoid risks is naturally to stay away from them.
Recently, a number of shipping giants such as Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM Group, Maersk Group, Hapag-Lloyd and other shipping giants have suspended the navigation of their container ships in the Red Sea and its contiguous waters. This also means that four of the world's top five shipping companies have suspended the Red Sea route.
These companies have a cumulative share of 53% of the global container shipping market. In other words, more than half of international shipping no longer passes through the Red Sea.
As recently as December 18, British Petroleum (BP) also announced that it would follow suit and suspend shipping in the Red Sea.
Global shipping costs have skyrocketed
Is it the consumer who "pays"?
The giants are taking a detour, not to mention the smaller shippers. Some analysts have pointed out that as these shipping giants have taken a detour, it is very likely that the once busy Red Sea will suddenly "calm down" in the short term.
This is not a good thing for the global ** chain.
If merchant ships do not travel through the Red Sea, it will mean having to divert to the Cape of Good Hope, and some shipping experts say that the suspension of the Red Sea route could add tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs per voyage and significantly extend transit times by seven to 10 days. The increased costs are likely to be passed on to consumers, and the international ** chain will also be severely impacted.
The market reacted quickly to the crisis on the Red Sea.
London's marine insurance market announced on the 18th that it would expand the Red Sea high-risk area. Reuters reported that according to market estimates, the cost of war risk insurance has risen from about 0 percent of the ship's value in early December07%, which climbed to about 05% to 07%, which means that a voyage (about seven days) will cost tens of thousands of dollars more.
The U.S. military formed a multinational force to cruise
Middle Eastern allies are not in tune?
In addition to attacking merchant ships, Yemen's Houthis have also targeted Israel and the United States, and repeatedly fired missiles and drones at American ships in the direction of Israel and in the Middle East.
This makes the United States unable to sit still. On December 19, local time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin announced a major decision in Bahrain, the Middle East headquarters of the U.S. Navy, to form a joint fleet to patrol the Red Sea.
The cruise participants include "traditional allies" such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Italy, as well as many Middle Eastern countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Austin said that some countries will participate in joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with the US military, and some countries will report support.
The U.S. side said that the purpose of the cruise was to "protect the Red Sea route", and some analysts said that this reason is indeed the common goal of relevant countries at the moment. Therefore, joint cruises may soon be established. However, the "drunkard's intention" of the United States is to fight the Houthis in Yemen, and on this issue, the goals of all parties are not completely identical.
Reuters noted in the report that it is unclear whether these countries are willing to share the tune of the United States on issues such as "shooting down Houthi missiles and drones and quickly assisting attacked merchant ships."
Bloomberg also pointed out that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two important allies of the United States in the region, are divided on how to fight the Houthis.
*: China News Network.