"We are now more than half a year on from the beginning of the Red Sea crisis, and the severe impact on the container shipping industry continues unabated," stated Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.
Sea-Intelligence, a Danish data analysis firm, reported a notable decrease in the number of deep-sea port calls in regions adjacent to the Suez Canal, specifically the East Mediterranean (East MED), the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. The East MED witnessed a 22% month-on-month reduction in port calls as of January 2024, with a 33% decrease from the pre-crisis average. The Gulf of Aden experienced a similar 33% decline, with port calls reducing to 60-70 in 2024 from around 100. Despite slight signs of recovery, progress in these areas remains slow.
The Red Sea saw an 85% drop in average monthly port calls in 2024, decreasing from over 200 to fewer than 40 between January and June. Although there was a slight increase to 60 calls by July 2024, the future trend is uncertain. Jeddah and King Abdullah Port were the most impacted, with the latter being excluded from deep-sea service routes by carriers since January 2024. Jeddah's port calls fell by 74% from December 2023 to January 2024, with a recovery to 37 calls per month by July 2024, down from a pre-crisis average of 135.
In the East Mediterranean, Piraeus and Port Said faced significant challenges, while Salalah in the Gulf of Aden saw a nearly 50% reduction in deep-sea port calls between January and February 2024. Schedule reliability in the Red Sea and East Mediterranean has returned to pre-crisis levels, but the Gulf of Aden is still behind. The average delay of late vessel arrivals across all regions has improved, dropping back to 4-5 days after peaking at 10-14 days in January 2024.
Source: Containers News