The group said on Tuesday that transport for a 40-foot container between Asia and the western Mediterranean will cost $6,000 (5,430 euros) from January 15, up from $3,000 previously.
Prices to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Black Sea and Syria were also drastically increased. However, a spokesman did not want to give any details.
Some shipping companies have been avoiding the Suez Canal with some of their ships since the attacks on freighters in the Red Sea. They reroute the ships via the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa. The route is significantly further than that through the Suez Canal, which also leads to higher fuel and personnel costs. Insurance costs have increased for trips through the Red Sea.
Container ships belonging to the Danish shipping giant Maersk, for example, will no longer sail through the Red Sea for an indefinite period after several attacks on merchant ships. After initially suspending all trips through the affected area for 48 hours from Sunday to Tuesday, the Danish shipping company has decided to pause all freight traffic through the sea and the Gulf of Aden until further notice. The company announced this on Tuesday.
Germany’s largest container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is also continuing to avoid the maritime area in the Middle East due to the uncertain situation in the Red Sea. “We are monitoring the situation very closely every day, but will reroute our ships until January 9th,” a company spokesman said on Tuesday. Next Tuesday, the Hamburg company wants to decide again whether the ships should be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked Israel with drones and rockets, among other things. They also attack ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from passing through to Israel. The Red Sea is considered one of the most important shipping routes for world trade because it connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt.
