Breaking news! Three more ships attacked in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea

The Houthi armed forces gave the names of the three attacked ships and the reasons for the attacks in their statement. The Houthi armed forces said:

The first one is the "LAREGO DESERT" ship sailing in the Indian Ocean, which the Houthis claim is related to the United States;

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The second one is the "MSC MECHELA" ship sailing in the Indian Ocean, which the Houthis claim is related to Israel;

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The third one is the "MINERVA LISA" ship sailing in the Red Sea, which the Houthis claim violated the ban of the armed forces and went to the port of Israel.

According to the ship's AIS data, the "MINERVA LISA" that was attacked in the Indian Ocean was an oil tanker built in 2004 and flying the Liberian flag. However, the other two ships named "LAREGO DESERT" and "MSC MECHELA" could not find the corresponding ship information of the same name.

In addition, on May 24 local time, Yemeni Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said that the armed forces attacked the MSC container ship "MSC ALEXANDRA" in the Arabian Sea that day, and attacked the bulk cargo ship "YANNIS" and the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker "ESSEX" in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea respectively.

It is worth noting that this is the Houthi armed forces claiming to attack 6 merchant ships in 4 days. In the latest statement, the Houthi armed forces once again issued a warning, clearly stating that they will target all ships related to Israel, regardless of their destination, and will become their targets in the designated action area.

In view of the escalating situation in the Red Sea region, several shipping giants have decided to suspend the Suez-Red Sea route. This decision has led to nearly 3,400 ships choosing to go around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa instead of passing through the Suez Canal. The International Monetary Fund recently reported that shipping volume in the Suez Canal fell sharply by two-thirds in April this year compared with the same period last year, a trend that has further exacerbated the disruption of global trade.

According to data from the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority, overall trade volume through the Suez Canal plummeted by 50% year-on-year in the first two months of 2024.

Not only is the Suez Canal facing such a dilemma, but several ports on the Asia-Europe route, including the Saudi Jeddah Port and Aden, the largest port in Yemen, are facing serious shipping challenges due to the tense situation in the Red Sea. The Saudi Jeddah Port has lost its former busyness, while the average daily import volume of the Aden Port has dropped sharply, from more than 19,000 tons in the same period last year to 6,500 tons, and sometimes there are no cargo ships docking all day. Similarly, ports in southeastern Europe such as the Greek Piraeus Port have also been affected, with its container terminal experiencing a 12.7% year-on-year drop in cargo volume in January 2024.

Faced with the decline in shipping volume in the Suez Canal, many ships chose to divert to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, which led to a significant increase in trade flows in southern Africa. Ports such as Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Nqura in South Africa have experienced severe congestion due to sudden shipping demand.

On the other hand, as some companies choose to unload goods at ports in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula and then transport them by land to the western Middle East or northern Africa, ports such as Dubai Port in the UAE and Dammam Port in Saudi Arabia have seen rapid growth in cargo throughput.

Shipping giant Maersk has previously stated that the company will continue to detour around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in the foreseeable future, which means that capacity will further decline and costs will continue to increase. Therefore, Maersk recently announced an increase in the FAK rate for the European line, and jointly announced with several shipping companies the collection of peak season surcharges PSS for multiple routes.