Shipping data analyst firm Sea-Intelligence says that disruptions to shipping from the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are already more damaging to the supply chain than the early COVID-19 pandemic.
The firm cite their analysis of vessel delays
- supply chain data known in the industry as "vessel capacity" shows the second largest drop in recent years, surpassed only when the giant Ever Given cargo ship was stuck in the Suez Canal for six days during March 2021
- With that exception, the Red Sea crisis is "the largest single event - even larger than the early pandemic impact" said the firm in their its Trade Capacity Outlook report
- The longer transit around the tip of South Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, is having a significant impact on vessels available to pick up containers
The silver lining is that unlike during the pandemic, there is excess vessel capacity now unused which could be put back into service
Ever Given stuck, back in the day.
