SUMMARY:
- Shipping mostly settles into new normal avoiding the Red Sea.
- The industry has largely become accustomed to longer routes though some ports are still adapting to increased volumes.
The shipping industry has settled into a new normal with routes avoiding the Red Sea according to industry experts, despite the Houthi militant group vowing to escalate attacks in the region.
Analysis from online freight marketplace Freightos found that while the adjustments made by the industry continued to disrupt, the worst of the backlogs and shortages seen at the beginning of the Red Sea crisis have largely dissipated.
An update from the company said issues mainly persisted in ports that were now being used more frequently than usual, as shipping operators change their routes to avoid the Red Sea, where the Houthi group have been attacking ships seen to be associating with Israel and the US has been retaliating in Yemen.
Freightos said: “Some West Mediterranean ports are now being used as transshipment hubs for East Mediterranean-bound containers, leading to some congestion there, and terminals in Colombo, Sri Lanka are also facing some backlogs as volumes have increased there for transshipment to the Middle East.”
