The situation in the Red Sea remains tense. The EU Mission Aspides continues to warn of risks to merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The background is threats and attacks by the Houthi militia from Yemen.
For sea freight, this means: Many major container shipping lines continue to avoid the direct route through the Red Sea, Bab al Mandab, and the Suez Canal. While the Suez Canal is not officially closed, for many container services the route remains a practical risk.
Instead, vessels are sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, i.e., the southern tip of Africa. This is a major detour. Depending on the port of departure and destination port, roughly 7 to 14 days of additional transit time is added. In some cases, it can be even more if schedules become disrupted or connections are missed.
For shippers, this has become almost routine by now. Many routes, prices, and delivery times have been adjusted to the Cape route. Nevertheless, the market remains vulnerable. If there are new escalations, space on vessels quickly becomes scarcer. Then rates rise, departures are delayed, and containers arrive later.
Asia-Europe services are particularly affected. This includes, for example, shipments from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, or the Middle East to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. European exports to Asia are also affected.
For ports, this means more irregular port calls. Vessels arrive later, sometimes bundled or outside the usual windows. Ports, terminals, freight forwarders, warehousing operators, and shippers all feel the impact.
The crisis has now been ongoing since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023. What started as a short-term security problem has become a permanent disruption factor for global sea freight.