Talking Transportation 2024
Houthi Attacks Off Coast of Yemen Could Lengthen Shipping Delays (Worth $1 Trillion a Year) Even More
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What do 15,000 sheep, 7,000 U.S. sailors, that order for your new patio furniture and your recent “Temu haul” have in common? They’re all affected by the shipping bottleneck in the Red Sea caused by the Houthis. You may not know or care about the Yemen-based Sunni Islamist Houthis, but their attacks on shipping on its way to and from the Suez Canal are affecting your life and pocketbook. As they attempt to control the 14-mile wide seaway known as the Bab el-Mandeb (also known, appropriately, as “The Gate of Grief”), the Houthis have recently fired ballistic missiles and drones at 45 ships, including U.S. warships. So dangerous has become this passage, traversed by 15% of global shipping, worth $1 trillion a year, that container-ship owners are now diverting their vessels around the tip of Africa, adding 3 to 4 weeks of sailing time from China to Europe and adding almost $1 million to each vessel’s shipping costs.