An unexpected consequence of the Israel-Hamas conflict was the disruption
An unexpected consequence of the Israel-Hamas conflict was the disruption of commercial shipping in the Red Sea region.
As the conflict intensified, the Houthis in Yemen launched missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. Given their strategic location at the crossroads of major East-West shipping routes, the Houthis were successful in severely impeding maritime trade on this route.
The attacks, which started in mid-December 2023, continued despite airstrikes on launch pads and Houthi strongholds, with the intensity only waning towards the second half of 2025.
During this period, Carriers were compelled to reroute vessels via the Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) to avoid the conflict zone and minimise potential risks to crew, vessels, and cargo.
From the perspective of Carriers, while the CoGH routing helped maintain equilibrium between supply and demand and thus kept rates from falling due to oversupply of capacity, it considerably increased sailing times. With additional capacity being absorbed as more vessels were introduced on FEA-EUR services (to maintain weekly services despite longer sailing times), the pressure on
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