Ship Traffic Through Suez Canal Down 20% Due to Houthi Attacks

Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal fell 20% between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 compared to a year earlier, according to the PortWatch platform, after shipping companies began re-routing vessels in response to attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

From Dec. 15, when Maersk became the first shipper to announce diversions, until Jan. 2, the most recent date for which International Monetary Fund's PortWatch has data, the number of tankers and cargo ships passing through the crucial shipping lane fell by 10%.

But seven-day averages only began dipping on Dec. 24, as the numbers of shippers foregoing the crucial time- and fuel-saving route around Africa swelled.

Other major companies to have announced diversion of ships following missile and drone attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis included Hapag-Lloyd and MSC.

The Suez Canal is an important source of dollar revenues for cash-strapped Egypt, but canal authorities have not commented on any loss in revenue.

The Houthis have launched attacks on more than 20 ships since Nov. 19, saying they were targeting vessels that had Israeli links or were sailing to Israel, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Hoever, many of the targeted vessels have had no Israeli connection and were not bound for Israeli ports.

The United States and other countries last month formed a naval task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect civilian vessels. U.S. warships have shot down Houthi-fired weapons, and on Sunday sank Houthi speed boats.

(Reuters - Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)