At least three very large gas carriers (VLGCs) have changed course away from the Suez Canal towards the Cape of Good Hope, to avoid the escalating attacks against shipping around the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Ship tracking data show the Flanders Pioneer, the Crystal Sunrise and the Clipper Vanguard have taken sharp turns off the course to Suez and are now targeting Durban, South Africa, ballasting from east Asia back to the US Gulf. Flanders Pioneer is owned by Belgian shipowner group Exmar and is under a long-term contract with Norway's state-controlled Equinor. Singapore-based shipping firm Kumiai Navigation owns the Crystal Sunrise, and the Clipper Vanguard is owned by Partrederiet Clipper Sirius DA and operated by Norwegian shipping firm Solvang.
The rerouting follows an escalation of attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb and companies' decision to suspend transits in the area.
Owners are looking into ballasting back to the US Gulf via the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the conflict zone, market participants said. The voyage adds about three days to the journey, pressuring further a VLGC fleet that is already stretched out on longer journeys since November because of restrictions at the Panama Canal.
More major shipping companies, including MSC, CMA-CGM and BP, have followed the lead of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in pausing shipments through the Red Sea.
MSC, the world's largest container line, said its ships will not transit through the Suez Canal until it deems Red Sea passage to be safe, and many of its services will be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope adding considerable journey length and costs. An MSC container ship, MSC Palatium III, was attacked on December 15 causing limited damage but resulting in it being taken out of service.
French shipping company CMA-CGM instructed all its containerships scheduled to pass through the area to "pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice", because "the situation is further deteriorating and concern of safety is increasing."
