Did you know that marine traffic is experiencing one of its most significant disruptions? And it could impact you
Many other ships have done the same. This is what marine traffic around the world looked like back in January 2023.Navigating the choppy waters of global shipping disruption For Singapore, which has the busiest transhipment port in the world in terms of shipping tonnage, this has resulted in a significant increase in vessels since the beginning of 2024, according to a statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.Cape of Good Hope
PSA Singapore handled 13.36 million containers in the first four months of 2024, an 8.8 per cent increase over the same period last year. Its Tuas Port currently has eight operational berths and this is expected to increase to 11 by the end of 2024.These delays are not just inconveniences; they represent a symptom of a larger crisis affecting maritime trade on a massive scale.
However, since late 2023, the area around the Suez Canal has become a hot spot of conflict. The crisis unfolded in November when the Houthi militia in Yemen targeted a ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical choke point for global trade known as the southern gateway to the Suez Canal. Mr Jan Hoffmann, chief of Unctad, trade facilitation section, highlights the impact of potential Suez Canal closures: “If the Suez Canal closes or has reduced capacity, container shipping needs more ships, as there is no significant alternative to going round South Africa. So maritime trade will take longer and be more costly.”
PortWatch, a platform jointly operated by the International Monetary Fund and the University of Oxford, indicates that the issue remains active in Panama. Rates for container freight from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe have surged notably since November 2023.transport has doubled in the last six months but has not reached the levels of the Covid-19 crisis