Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal fell 20% between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 compared with a year earlier, according to the PortWatch platform, after shipping lines began diverting vessels in response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
From December 15, when Maersk became the first carrier to announce diversions, to January 2, the most recent date for which the International Monetary Fund’s PortWatch has data, the number of tankers and cargo ships passing through the crucial sea route fell by 10%. .
But the seven-day averages began to drop only on December 24, when the number of carriers abandoning the crucial route to save time and fuel around Africa increased.
Other major companies that have announced the diversion of ships following missile and drone attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis were Hapag-Lloyd and MSC.
The Suez Canal is a major source of dollar revenue for cash-strapped Egypt, but canal authorities have not commented on any loss of revenue.
The Houthis have launched attacks on more than 20 ships since Nov. 19, saying they were targeting vessels that had Israeli ties or were sailing to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
However, many of the ships attacked had no Israeli connection and were not bound for Israeli ports.
The United States and other countries formed a naval task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, last month to protect civilian vessels. U.S. warships shot down weapons fired by Houthis and sank Houthi speedboats on Sunday.
(Reuters – Report by Nafisa Eltahir; Edited by Tomasz Janowski)