2023-12-18 03:09 Economic Daily reporter Qiu Xinyi/Taipei report Evergreen Marine.Picture/Courtesy of Evergreen Marine
Container shipping has erupted in the Red Sea crisis. Yemen’s “Youth Movement” organization (Houthi, also translated as the Houthi armed forces) controls the Red Sea waterways, which has forced the world’s top five shipping giants to stop sailing in the Red Sea and detour around the Cape of Good Hope. Evergreen (2603), Yang Ming and others Major airlines will not rule out following up.
Last week, many merchant ships from international shipping companies traveling through the Red Sea and planning to pass through the Suez Canal came under fire from the Yemeni youth movement.
Therefore, the world’s top five shipping companies, including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, and shipping giants such as CMA, have successively announced the suspension of operations through the Red Sea. , will go to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa).
The shipping industry pointed out that the current Red Sea crisis is more severe than the “Evergreen row” incident caused by the Evergreen’s Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal two years ago. Global maritime trade has returned to the 19th century before the opening of the Suez Canal, and shipping capacity has continued to decline. The situation of pressure is the first seen since the epidemic, and a sharp rise in freight prices is imminent.
Domestic shipping industry operators pointed out that Europe is the world’s second largest market. In order to cope with the Red Sea crisis, shipping companies from various countries may be the only option to bypass Africa and pass through the Cape of Good Hope to Europe, but conservatively it is estimated that the voyage will take eight to ten days longer.
In this regard, although Taiwan’s shipping companies Evergreen and Yang Ming have not yet announced their response strategies, they are not expected to rule out follow-up detours. If true, not only will the time cost increase significantly, but the cost of manpower and fuel will also have to be added, and it will inevitably crowd out the shipping capacity of ships to other areas, and freight rates will inevitably rise.
On the 15th, Maersk’s Danish share price soared 7.9%, Hapag Lord’s German share price soared 16.4%, and ZIM (ZIM) soared 18.4%. Domestic Evergreen and Yangming saw relatively moderate gains last Friday, but they also rose by 3-4%. Legal persons expect that after Evergreen and Yangming plan to follow up and detour, the subsequent trend will attract much attention.
According to shipping data, as of the 16th, the positions of the above-mentioned container ships entering the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden show that there are still more than 100 ships in the nearby area temporarily anchored and waiting, and they may be forced to change their routes.
Alphaliner, a shipping consulting company, pointed out that if all the above-mentioned shipping companies finally decide to stop their ships from passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and instead sail around the Cape of Good Hope, it will be a disaster for the Suez Canal and the authorities, but it will be able to absorb the excess after the epidemic. Capacity.
According to calculations, shipping companies circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope must invest more than twice their shipping capacity in order to meet the current demand for trade between Europe and Asia.
However, the biggest concern for shipping companies is that the world’s top ten shipping companies have suspended sailings through the Red Sea and Suez. How long will the suspension of this route last? Judging from the recent severe situation since the war between Israel and Kazakhstan triggered the crisis in the Middle East, it is indeed unpredictable.
According to the latest shipping report, the Red Sea crisis encountered by container shipping will not only directly impact commercial shipping from the Far East to Europe, but will also affect the Far East to North America, especially the East-U.S. route.
Evergreen Yangming
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2023-12-17 19:09:21
