Factbox: Shipping firms react to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea

Gram Car Carriers ASA

05/01/2024 16:59

(Updates entries for CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd)
       Jan 5 (Reuters) - Iranian-backed Houthi militants in
Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show
their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting
Israel in Gaza.
    The attacks impact a route vital to East-West trade,
especially of oil, as ships access the Suez Canal via the Red
Sea.
    In response, some shipping companies have instructed vessels
to instead sail around southern Africa, a slower and therefore
more expensive route.
    Below are actions taken by companies (in alphabetical
order):

    C.H. ROBINSON  CHRW.O 
    The global logistics group said on Dec. 22 it had rerouted
more than 25 vessels around the Cape of Good Hope over the past
week, and that number would likely grow.
    "Blank sailings and rate increases are expected to continue
across many trades into Q1 of 2024," it added.

    CMA CGM
    
        French shipping firm CMA CGM 
    said
     On Jan. 5 it had not changed its plans announced last month
to gradually raise the number of vessels transiting through the
Suez Canal.
  
    It had previously rerouted several vessels via the Cape of
Good Hope.
    
    EURONAV  EUAV.BR  
    The Belgian oil tanker firm said on Dec. 18 it would avoid
the Red Sea until further notice.

    EVERGREEN  2603.TW  
    The Taiwanese container shipping line said on Dec. 18 its
vessels on regional services to Red Sea ports would sail to safe
waters nearby and wait for further notification, while ships
scheduled to pass through the Red Sea would be rerouted around
the Cape of Good Hope. It also temporarily stopped accepting
Israeli cargo.

    FRONTLINE  FRO.OL  
    The Norway-based oil tanker group said on Dec. 18 that its
vessels would avoid the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

    GRAM CAR CARRIERS  GCC.OL 
    The Norwegian company, which specialises in transporting
vehicles, said on Dec. 21 its vessels were restricted from
passing through the Red Sea.

    HAPAG-LLOYD  HLAG.DE  
    The German container shipping line on Jan. 2 said it had
decided to continue to avoid the Red Sea, instead diverting
vessels to the Cape of Good Hope, until at least Jan. 9 when it
would again assess the situation.
     Hapag Lloyd said it incurred costs in a two-digit million
euro range between Dec. 18 and 31 as a result of diverting 25
ships in response to militant attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
    A projectile believed to be a drone struck one of its
vessels sailing close to the coast of Yemen on Dec. 15. No crew
were injured.

    HMM  011200.KS  
    The South Korean container shipper said on Dec. 19 it had
ordered its ships which would normally use the Suez Canal to
reroute via the Cape of Good Hope.

    HOEGH AUTOLINERS  HAUTO.OL 
    The Norwegian shipping company said on Dec. 20 it would stop
sailing via the Red Sea after the Norwegian Maritime Authority
raised its alert for the southern part of the sea to the highest
level.

    KLAVENESS COMBINATION CARRIERS  KCCK.OL  
    The Norway-based fleet operator said on Dec. 28 it was
unlikely to sail any of its vessels in the Red Sea, unless the
situation improves. 

    MAERSK  MAERSKb.CO 
    Danish shipping group said on Jan. 2 that all its cargo
shipments would continue to avoid the Red Sea route until
further notice before saying on Jan. 5 that it would suspend its
Red Sea traffic "for the foreseeable future". 
        It had on Dec. 31 paused all sailing via the Red Sea for
48 hours after Houthi militants attacked the Maersk Hangzhou
container vessel. 
  
        Maersk 
    rerouted
     four of five southbound container vessels on 04. Jan,
bringing them back up the Suez Canal for the long journey around
Africa.
  

    MSC
    Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on Dec. 16 its
ships would not transit through the Suez Canal, with some
already rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, a day after two
ballistic missiles were fired at one of its vessels.

    OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS
    Ocean Network Express (ONE), a joint venture between Japan's
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha  9107.T , Mitsui O.S.K. Lines  9104.T  and
Nippon Yusen  9101.T , said on Dec. 19 it would reroute vessels
away from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily
pause journeys and move to safe areas.

    OOCL
    The Hong Kong-headquartered container group said on Dec. 21
it had instructed its vessels to either divert their route away
from the Red Sea or suspend sailing. The company, owned by
Orient Overseas (International) Ltd  0316.HK , has also stopped
accepting cargo to and from Israel until further notice.

    WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN  WAWI.OL  
    The Norwegian shipping group said on Dec. 19 it would halt
Red Sea transits until further notice. Rerouting vessels via the
Cape of Good Hope will add 1-2 weeks to voyage durations, it
said.

    YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT  2609.TW  
    The Taiwanese container shipping company said on Dec. 18 it
would divert ships sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of
Aden via the Cape of Good Hope for the next two weeks.

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type of goods shipped via the Suez route    https://tmsnrt.rs/3NBsrTC
Vessels re-routing around Africa    https://tmsnrt.rs/3NVTcCz
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Compiled by Paolo Laudani, Izabela Niemiec, Jesus Calero,
Louis van Boxel-Woolf and Tristan Veyet in Gdansk; editing by
Jason Neely, Milla Nissi and Louise Heavens)
 ((Paolo.Laudani@thomsonreuters.com;))