Suspension of all journeys through the Red Sea

As you may or may not be aware, if you have read the news or keep up with freight news, all major shipping companies have announced suspension of all journeys through the Red Sea due to a series of attacks on commercial vessels by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Bab Al Mandeb Strait, approximately 20 miles wide at the entrance to the Red Sea, serves as a critical route between Asia, Europe, and North America via the Suez Canal, offering a vital passage for global ocean freight, accounting for roughly 30% of yearly global traffic.

The temporary pause and potential rerouting of vessels could significantly disrupt global supply chains and we want to make you fully aware of this situation. Presently, vessels have been instructed to pause, potentially leading to their diversion around the Cape of Good Hope, particularly those departing Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.

For us, it is very much up in the air at the moment, we have spoken with our offices and other contacts in China and we are still waiting news/updates on specific vessels. At present we are pretty much in the dark other than potential delays circa 20 days on everything on the water, but that’s pure guesswork at this stage. We do expect that the carriers will be making more announcements over the coming days/weeks, and we will endeavour to keep you updated and informed as much as we can. Our ops team will continue to monitor the situation and will advise updates as and when.

Thanks for your co-operation as always and we look forward to a busy and most likely challenging start to 2024.

If you need anything else in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the team at KTL