The Cypriot Shipping Chamber, a key entity in the maritime shipping industry, announced today that the ongoing attacks by the Houthis in Yemen on vessels using navigation routes in the Red Sea may have a "significant" impact on economies and an indirect effect on prices. The Houthi attacks have disrupted a vital trade route, especially for oil, as ships transit through the Suez Canal via the Red Sea. Some shipping companies have been forced to divert their vessels from the Red Sea to longer routes, which threatens to create supply bottlenecks.
Thomas Kazakos, the General Director of the Cypriot Shipping Chamber, stated, "Wherever countries rely heavily on raw materials, gas, grains, and medicines, we must assume that this will have a significant impact on daily life and business operations... a multiplier effect." He noted that shipping prices have already increased. Kazakos told Reuters, "Countries are obliged to provide protection for international navigation regardless of the flag under which the ships sail and regardless of the vessels involved, as this affects global trade, economies, and societies in that order." He added, "For us, the key point is that this problem needs to be resolved as quickly as possible."
The Cypriot Shipping Chamber represents around 200 major shipping companies involved in ship ownership, management, chartering, and related shipping services based either in Cyprus or abroad. Cyprus has the third-largest shipping fleet in the European Union after Malta and Greece.
