The Red Sea crisis impact is no more limited to only the Asia-Europe trade lane and has expanded to the global trade routes. The coming months will be even more challenging for both exporters/importers and the shipping line operators, as the crisis enters into the third quarter of 2024. Going round the Cape of Good Hope has tightened the tonnage capacity as 2-3 more ships are being needed into each service network. The shortage in tonnage supply is lifting the freight rates.
All the ships which were earlier less utilised are today being optimally put into use to plug the supply gaps, said Clerc. All sizes of ships are being pushed into all kinds of services, which is again limiting the shipping line’s capability to meet the growing demand.
Vincent Clerc said, “Take the Oceania network, for example. Oceania’s ocean network is impacted by congestion in Southeast Asian hubs as these ports are crucial to connect Oceania’s cargo to Maersk’s global network. This is due to equipment shortages and constrained capacity from the Red Sea disruptions, which affects both alternative routes and transshipment hubs. The delays in Southeast Asian hubs pose a risk of disruption at Australian ports due to vessel bunching on arrival, resulting in longer waiting times and other delays.”
