Shipping traffic through the vital Suez Canal artery in Egypt has plunged by 66% since cargo was forced to divert due to attacks on vessels, according to official figures.
The data, from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), covered the period from mid-December to the beginning of April.
It is important as it represents the scale of disruption to supplies through the artificial channel linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea since Iran-backed Houthi fighters started firing on ships in the run-up to Christmas last year.
There are fears that soaring costs for insurance, fuel and wages risk stoking a fresh wave of inflation as the diversion to Europe from destinations such as manufacturing powerhouse China, around the southern tip of Africa, adds up to 14 days to transit times.
Separate ONS data covering the pace of price increases is yet to show any real impact on the UK economy but the Bank of England is among institutions monitoring the situation as a number of companies report a hit from higher costs.
Container prices, for example, rose by more than 300% as the disruption gathered pace early this year.
Houthi fighters based in Yemen have been targeting ships which, they claim, have links to Israel.
They argue that they are acting in sympathy with Palestinians and a number of attacks have found their targets despite a US-led naval operation to protect vessels in the Red Sea.
The vast majority of major shipping companies have, for some months, used the diversion around the Cape of Good Hope.
The ONS said volumes started to increase in December 2023 and throughout the first weeks of 2024, more than doubling levels observed in February 2023.
“By the first week of April 2024 (week 14), the volume of cargo and tanker ships through the Suez Canal was 71% and 61% below the level of ship crossings seen in the previous year, respectively.”
