Diana Shipping's vessels avoiding Suez Canal due to Red Sea crisis

Genco Shipping & Trading

23/02/2024 16:26

By Mrinalika Roy
       Feb 23 (Reuters) - Diana Shipping  DSX.N  on Friday
joined some of the world's largest shipping companies in
avoiding the Suez Canal route following a spate of attacks on
ships by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea.
    The canal is a key trade link between Europe and Asia,
channeling nearly 12% of the global cargo. The current crisis,
however, is forcing shipping companies to use longer routes,
disrupting their schedules while adding to their costs.
    "Suez Canal transits are running about 40% below those seen
during the first half of December last year. This is partially
the result of several operators including ourselves avoiding the
area," Diana Shipping President Anastasios Margaronis said on a
call with investors.
    Falling water levels in the Panama Canal are also
threatening another busy shipping lane.
    "The Panama Canal is probably causing greater fleet
inefficiencies than the Red Sea. Though, certainly the vessels
avoiding the Red Sea are part of the story as well," a senior
executive at peer Genco Shipping & Trading  GNK.N  said on
Thursday.
    Transits in both canals have almost been cut in half
compared with their peaks, the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development said in a report, adding that if the
disruptions of key international maritime waterways continue, it
could cause greater upheaval in global supply chains.

 (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
 ((mrinalika.roy@thomsonreuters.com;))