GERMANY's shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd AG said it will keep its vessels away from the red Sea even after the launch of a US-led taskforce to protect the key trade route from militant attacks.
The container liner said it will continue to reroute its vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, a detour of several thousand miles. It follows a spate of attacks on merchant ships - by Yemeni rebels acting in support of the Palestinians - on a route that handles about 12 per cent of global trade, reports Bloomberg.
The incidents have struck everything from oil tankers to container vessels, pushing shipowners to avoid the route. That means delays and extra costs that could ultimately hit consumers.
Spot rates for container shipping have jumped 26 per cent over the past four weeks and 'are likely to remain in a heightened state' as long as voyages continue to be diverted, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence research note last Wednesday. Oil prices have risen since the attacks stepped up, though traders are still not pricing in major disruptions.
The US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian has got underway with the aim of containing a threat to global trade that's been triggered by the war between Israel and Hamas. Yemen-based militants say they are acting in support of the Palestinians and initially were targeting ships with Israeli links. But US officials - and their allies in the region - are wary of causing an escalation in the conflict by too heavy-handed a response.
There's been little sign of a let-up in attacks in recent days, and a container ship known as the MSC United VIII was hit last Tuesday.
SeaNews Turkey
The container liner said it will continue to reroute its vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, a detour of several thousand miles. It follows a spate of attacks on merchant ships - by Yemeni rebels acting in support of the Palestinians - on a route that handles about 12 per cent of global trade, reports Bloomberg.
The incidents have struck everything from oil tankers to container vessels, pushing shipowners to avoid the route. That means delays and extra costs that could ultimately hit consumers.
Spot rates for container shipping have jumped 26 per cent over the past four weeks and 'are likely to remain in a heightened state' as long as voyages continue to be diverted, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence research note last Wednesday. Oil prices have risen since the attacks stepped up, though traders are still not pricing in major disruptions.
The US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian has got underway with the aim of containing a threat to global trade that's been triggered by the war between Israel and Hamas. Yemen-based militants say they are acting in support of the Palestinians and initially were targeting ships with Israeli links. But US officials - and their allies in the region - are wary of causing an escalation in the conflict by too heavy-handed a response.
There's been little sign of a let-up in attacks in recent days, and a container ship known as the MSC United VIII was hit last Tuesday.
SeaNews Turkey