Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is on the verge of withdrawing its vessels serving trade lines that call at ports in the Horn of Africa region, because of ongoing attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by Houthi rebels operating in north-west Yemen.
An industry insider said if MSC went ahead with the risk-avoidance strategy, it would impact the DP World-run Port of Berbera, including the Ports of Aden and Mukalla on the south-east coast of Yemen.
This is despite the latter two ports being in an area controlled by official government forces according to Global Conflict Tracker, compared to the Red Sea side of Yemen that is run by the Ansar Allah (supporters of God) Islamic militia movement led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
The source said since Houthi’s followers started attacking commercial vessels sailing south of the Suez Canal in November, “it’s become too dangerous”.
“There have been too many attacks and the risks are too great.
“If we continue to call at ports like Berbera and Yemen’s ports on the Gulf (of Aden), it will be through third-party service providers,” the source said.
The withdrawal of vessels from ports serving leading East Africa economies such as Ethiopia, could have a disastrous impact on the country’s socio-economic dynamics, a possibility warned against earlier this year by Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen.
The MSC source said the impact that the Red Sea situation is having on ports like Djibouti, a feeder port for landlocked Ethiopia, is already taking its toll on avocado exports to markets in Turkey.
“It’s a real pity what is happening at the moment. The congestion caused by the crisis in the Red Sea has a wide impact. Because vessels are rounding the Cape, equipment is at sea so much longer, sometimes up to two weeks.
“Whereas some trade lanes used to have nine vessels serving ports on certain routes, we’re now adding additional vessels, as many as 12 on certain trades, to ensure schedule reliability."
The source added that ports to the east and south-east of the Red Sea have all been affected.
“Jebel Ali (UAE) is congested, so are India’s ports, and we don’t even call anymore at Colombo (Sri Lanka) from South Africa because of the mess at that port. We’re looking at alternate ports in Pakistan but because its economy is in a bad way, we’re reluctant to proceed."
