Suez Canal transits down 67% year-on-year
The number of weekly transits of containerships through the Suez Canal has experienced a significant decline of 67% compared to the same period last year as of January 23. This decline is attributed to a higher number of ships being diverted to avoid the conflict in the Red Sea, particularly among container vessels, in contrast to tanker and bulker operators.
According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), there has been an estimated overall decrease of 42% in weekly transits of all types of ships through the Suez Canal in the past two months.
Additionally, the logistics platform Project44, based in the United States, has calculated that the average daily volume of container vessels in the canal has dropped to 4.25 vessels per day. This is a significant reduction from the pre-Houthi attack period in mid-November when the average was 15 vessels per day.
The shipping industry is currently grappling with three global bottlenecks, namely the Red Sea crisis, the Panama Canal drought, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Alphaliner
