Due to recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Maersk, MSC and CMA have decided to suspend all movements through this area which means vessels will not pass the Suez Canal. Instead, they will detour round the Cape of Good Hope, this will add 3,500 nautical miles to its typical voyage and will take an additional 10 days to complete the journey.
Other carriers are reviewing the situation each day, but could make the same decisions as these three. It means there will be significant delays in the supply chain, and will also impact the capacity available on the key route of Far East to Europe. With Chinese New Year approaching which already is seen as peak season, the availability of space and equipment is likely to be seriously affected.
