Shipping analysts indicated on Friday that more grain-laden vessels have diverted from the Suez Canal, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope this week following attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Ishan Bhanu, a senior agricultural commodities analyst at Kepler, stated, "The rerouting of 16 additional ships was confirmed this week, raising the total grain shipments that have altered their course to about 3.9 million tons, up from three million tons last week." Typically, around seven million tons of grain passes through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea each month.
Houthi militants, who control densely populated areas in Yemen, have launched drone and missile attacks on ships in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthis claim to target vessels connected to Israel or heading there. Bhanu from Kepler mentioned, "Many of the vessels that altered their course are carrying U.S. grain shipments and are exercising caution." He added, "One ship that sailed from the U.S. Gulf to China had already passed through the Suez Canal heading south but halted for 11 days south of Suez before returning north to transit the canal, then sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar."
Bhanu noted that a significant number of grain ships are still crossing the Red Sea. He mentioned that approximately 2.4 million tons of grain are expected to pass through the Suez Canal in January, compared to 6.6 million tons in December 2023 and 6.4 million tons in January 2023. A German grain trader remarked, "Ships that were previously chartered often sailed through the Red Sea, but booking vessels for new shipments is increasingly difficult... It is clear that airstrikes will not quickly halt the attacks."
