The increase in sea freight rates from China to Europe and America has more than tripled due to attacks from “Sana’a.”
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The British agency “Reuters” revealed a more than threefold increase in sea freight rates from Asia to both Europe and America compared to the beginning of May, due to operations carried out by the Sana’a government forces against Israeli ships or those linked to Israel and belonging to Britain and America.
Reuters quoted Peter Sand, chief analyst at the freight pricing platform Xeneta, as saying: “There is a mix of uncertainty and disruption regarding the smooth supply of global sea freight,” adding that the recent rapid rise in freight rates was surprising.
He explained that the cost of sending a 40-foot container from China to Northern Europe reached $4,615 on Friday, about 3.5 times higher than it was on May 1, and from China to the east coast of the United States it reached $6,061 on Friday, compared to $2,772 on May 1.
According to the agency, the crisis of rising sea freight rates from China to Europe and America increased after Maersk and other shipping lines decided to sail around Africa instead of through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to avoid the drone and missile attacks launched by the Houthis from Yemen.
It is noteworthy that the Danish company Maersk was one of the companies whose ships were attacked by missiles by the Sana’a government forces when they were on their way to Israeli ports.
Since November of last year, the Sana’a government forces have announced the targeting of Israeli ships and those linked to them in the Red and Arabian Seas before announcing the extension of their operations to parts of the Indian Ocean, and recently the beginning of the fourth phase of escalation against ships “even in the Mediterranean” to support Palestinians in Gaza. They say their operations against “Israel” will continue until Israel stops its genocide in Gaza and lifts the blockade.
In response, America and Britain launched airstrikes on Yemen, prompting the Sana’a government forces to declare that their operations would include targeting American and British commercial and military ships in response to what they called the “American-British aggression.”
On February 19, 2024, the European Union announced the launch of a military operation named “Aspis,” led by Italy in the Red Sea, while the United States announced the launch of an operation named “Guardian of Prosperity,” both aiming to counter the attacks launched by Sana’a forces against “Israel.”
