3 Taiwan shipping lines suspend Red Sea transits due to Houthi attacks

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's three largest cargo container shipping firms on Monday announced a suspension of sailings through the Red Sea following attacks on commercial vessels by Houthi militants in Yemen.

Evergreen Marine Corp., Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd. -- followed international shipping counterparts such as MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM in diverting or canceling passages of the high-risk maritime area.

Houthi militants have launched hijackings and missile attacks on several commercial vessels since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October.

The Hamas-allied rebel movement, which has been locked in a brutal civil war with Yemen's internationally recognized government since 2014, has vowed to continue targeting international shipping in the region until Israel halts its military operations in Gaza.

In a statement on Monday, Evergreen Marine, the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, said it has temporarily stopped accepting any Israel-bound cargo and suspended its shipping service to Israel until further notification.

Evergreen Marine said ships on regional services to Red Sea ports will sail to safe waters nearby, pending a decision on whether to adjust the ports of call on the services.

As for long-haul routes connecting Asia to the Mediterranean, Europe and the east coast of the United States, Evergreen Marine said that its cargo ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea will be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope.

Meanwhile, Yang Ming Marine said in an online advisory that ships currently sailing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden or due to pass through the area in the next two weeks would diverted around the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily anchored at a safe location.

Wan Hai Lines also announced the suspension of services through the Red Sea, saying in a statement that vessels in the area will sail to safe waters until further notice.

Wan Hai added that vessels bound for the east coast of the United States via the Red Sea would be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope.

To a market estimate, about 10 percent of all oil traded at sea goes through the Red Sea, which is a key channel connected to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to the south through the Gulf of Aden and the narrow strait of Bab el Mandeb.

The diversions are expected to extend the journey time and lead to a shipping supply crisis, which could push up freight rates, according to analysts.

The news of attacks on vessels by Houthi militants boosted the transportation index by 0.26 percent on Tuesday on hopes of a spike in freight rates, outperforming the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, which lost 0.43 percent at 17,576.55 as investors pocketed gains built in recent sessions.

Evergreen Marine rose 3.89 percent to close at NT$147.00, and Yang Ming Marine gained 3.03 percent to end at NT$49.30, while Wan Hai Lines closed down 1.13 percent at NT$52.30.

Tuesday's gains in the transportation index moderated from a 2.38 percent increase on Monday, when Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming Marine and Wan Hai Lines rose 5.60 percent, 8.14 percent and 4.55 percent, respectively.