Nuran Erkul
05 July 2024•Update: 05 July 2024
LONDON
Container traffic in the Red Sea almost came to stop as ships shifted their routes to the Cape of Good Hope due to attacks on Israeli ships by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, said new figures announced on Friday.
The 40-feet (12.1-meter) container composite index rose to $5,868 by July 4, an increase of 120% in six months, according to research firm Drewry.
The world container index (WCI) gained 10% for the week ending July 4.
Furthermore, the WCI shot up 298% compared to the same week last year, a much more dramatic change.
As a result of ships shifting their routes to the Cape of Good Hope around South Africa, they extended their cruising times by 10-14 days, while total commercial ship transits through the Cape of Good Hope leaped 125%.
In addition, the WCI for 40-feet containers on the Shanghai-New York route rose 137% to $9,158 in the last six months, while it jumped 174% to $7,472 on the Shanghai-Los Angeles route.
*Writing by Sahika Olgun from Istanbul
