By Nuran Erkul
LONDON (AA) - Container traffic in the Red Sea almost came to stop as ships shifted their routes to the Cape of Good Hope due to attacks on Israeli ships by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, said new figures announced on Friday.
The 40-feet (12.1-meter) container composite index rose to $5,868 by July 4, an increase of 120% in six months, according to research firm Drewry.
The world container index (WCI) gained 10% for the week ending July 4.
Furthermore, the WCI shot up 298% compared to the same week last year, a much more dramatic change.
As a result of ships shifting their routes to the Cape of Good Hope around South Africa, they extended their cruising times by 10-14 days, while total commercial ship transits through the Cape of Good Hope leaped 125%.
In addition, the WCI for 40-feet containers on the Shanghai-New York route rose 137% to $9,158 in the last six months, while it jumped 174% to $7,472 on the Shanghai-Los Angeles route.
*Writing by Sahika Olgun from Istanbul