The Red Sea crisis has prompted several shipping lines to call off voyages rather than expend more time and money in using the alternative route around Africa. Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on ships in the strait of Bab al-Mandan, along the passage from the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal, have forced liners operating between Europe and Asia to take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
In the previous season, which ended in April, 10 vessels cancelled their visit to Cochin Port, dashing its hopes of cashing in on the rising trend of cruise holidays.
The protracted geopolitical crisis in the Red Sea is prolonging the uncertainty in the cruise industry. Officials of a shipping agency say 10 of the 22 cruise vessels they booked for voyages to Cochin Port between September and April-May next year have cancelled, including leading lines.
At stake is the fortune of the dedicated cruise terminal opened by Cochin Port, which received 44 cruise calls in 2019-20 and handled more than one lakh international travellers and crew members. With potential to handle more, including home-porting of vessels bound for destinations such as Maldives, Colombo and countries in South-East Asia, the terminal now stares at a second successive season of major cancellations.
The cruise season usually fetches bonus business for shipping firms and other stakeholders such as guides, tour operators, and taxi services for nearly 40 days in a year; the cancellations impact their earnings too as the average spend of a foreign tourist is pegged at $150-250. The port stands to lose revenue of ₹15-20 lakh by way of ship handling charges, according to market analysts.
