THE closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea tensions are diverting trade routes, turning Africa into a major hub for container ships.
Over two months, shipowners have shifted to land corridors for delivering food and goods to Gulf states like Sharjah, Bahrain, and Kuwait by truck. Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah port on the Red Sea acts as a key hub: ships from MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk, and Cosco arrive via Suez, then cargo travels by truck on desert highways. Jeddah faces severe congestion, with 11 ships docked and nine waiting (36-hour delays vs 17 last week), per Ovrsea’s Arthur Barillas de The.
Other options include Omani Sohar and UAE’s Khorfakkan/ Fujairah ports, plus Jordan’s Aqaba for Iraq (Baghdad/Basra) and a Turkish corridor to northern Iraq. Houthi attacks from Yemen since November 2023 prompted systematic rerouting around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Now 70 per cent of former Red Sea traffic (down from 18 to 5 daily transits) follows this path, tripling Cape traffic per IMF PortWatch.
AFP
TheGlobalNewLIghtOfMyanmar