Factbox-Shipping firms respond to Houthi attacks in Red Sea

FILE PHOTO: A container ship crosses the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, in Al-‘Ain al-Sokhna, in Suez, Egypt, July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

(Reuters) – Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, impacting a shipping route vital to east-west trade.

Some shipping companies have responded by instructing vessels to sail around southern Africa instead, a longer and therefore more expensive route.

Below are actions taken by companies (in alphabetical order):

C.H. ROBINSON

The global logistics group said on Dec. 22 it had rerouted more than 25 vessels around Africa over the previous week, and that number was likely to grow.

CMA CGM

The French shipping group has suspended most Red Sea voyages but is still sending some cargoes on a case by case basis when French navy escorts were possible, Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said on Feb. 29.

The company expects disruptions to commercial shipping to last months.

DIANA SHIPPING

The company’s vessels are avoiding the Suez Canal.

“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,” President Anastasios Margaronis said on Feb. 23.

EURONAV

The Belgian oil tanker firm said on Dec. 18 it would avoid the Red Sea until further notice.

EVERGREEN

The Taiwanese container shipping line said on Dec. 18 its vessels on regional services to Red Sea ports would sail to safe waters nearby, while ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea would be rerouted around Africa.

FRONTLINE

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

GRAM CAR CARRIERS

The Norwegian auto carrier said on Dec. 21 its vessels were restricted from passing through the Red Sea.

HAFNIA

The Norwegian shipping firm said on Jan. 12 it had halted all ships heading towards or within the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

HAPAG-LLOYD

The German container shipping line said on March 14 the Red Sea disruptions and global vessel oversupply would force it to cut expenses in 2024, including adapting sailings.

The company, which had decided in January to reroute its vessels around Africa until further notice, warned the impact of the rerouting will show up in the first quarter.

HMM

The South Korean container shipper said on Dec. 19 it had ordered its ships which would normally use the Suez Canal to reroute around Africa.

HOEGH AUTOLINERS

The Norwegian auto carrier said on Dec. 20 it would stop sailing via the Red Sea.

On Feb. 8 the company said that the Red Sea disruptions were adversely impacting its capacity and volumes.

KLAVENESS COMBINATION CARRIERS

The Norway-based fleet operator said on Jan. 16 it would not trade any of its vessels through the Red Sea until the situation improves.

KUEHNE + NAGEL

Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel said on March 1 it expects the impact from the Red Sea crisis to last into the coming quarters and impact its Q2 EBIT in a low double-digit million Swiss francs range.

MAERSK

The Danish shipping group on Jan. 5 suspended Red Sea traffic “for the foreseeable future”. Maersk said on May 6 that the disruption to container shipping traffic is increasing and is expected to reduce the industry’s capacity between Asia and Europe by some 15%-20% in the second quarter. On May 2 it forecast the disruptions to last at least until the end of 2024.

MSC

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on Dec. 16 its ships would not transit through the Suez Canal.

NIPPON YUSEN

Japan’s biggest shipper by sales suspended navigation through the Red Sea for all vessels it operates, a spokesperson told Reuters on Jan. 16.

OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS

The joint venture between Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, said on Dec. 19 it would reroute vessels 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 away from the Red Sea or suspend sailing. It also stopped accepting cargo to and from Israel until further notice.

STAR BULK

Star Bulk’s CEO said on Feb. 13 the Greece-headquartered company would halt sailings through the Red Sea after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two of its ships.

TAILWIND SHIPPING LINES

The Lidl unit, which transports non-food goods for the discount supermarket chain and goods for third-party customers, said in December it was sailing around Africa for now.

TORM

The Danish oil tanker group said on Jan. 12 it had decided to pause all transits through the southern Red Sea for now.

WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN

The Norwegian shipping group said on Dec. 19 it would halt Red Sea transits until further notice.

YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT

The Taiwanese container shipping company said on Dec. 18 it would divert ships via the Cape of Good Hope for the next two weeks. It has given no further update.

(Compiled by Paolo Laudani, Izabela Niemiec, Jesus Calero, Louis van Boxel-Woolf, Tristan Veyet, Elsa Ohlen and Tomasz Kanik in Gdansk; Editing by Jason Neely, Jan Harvey, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Alexander Smith)