SIMIC

CONTAINER and dry cargo ship traffic in the Red Sea has substantially declined, with shipping companies either suspending voyages through this route or diverting them to the Cape of Good Hope, reports Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

Data compiled by Anadolu from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking and maritime analytics provider, reveals that daily container vessel traffic through the Red Sea experienced a 50 per cent reduction from January 1 to 10 compared to the same period last year.



The overall ship traffic decreased 25 per cent, notably in dry cargo ships.



Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel's actions in Gaza have led to this disruption.



Last week, the US and UK conducted joint strikes on military targets associated with the Houthis.



The Red Sea route, which constitutes nearly 12 per cent of global seaborne trade traffic, has decreased the number of containerships from 248 in the same period last year to 118 from January 1 to 10.



Dry cargo ship traffic in the Red Sea witnessed a five per cent year-on-year decline from January 1 to 10, and on January 10 alone, it was down 53 per cent compared to the beginning of the year.



The number of dry cargo ships in the region decreased from 45 on January 6 to 21 as of January 10.