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Chinese state-owned Cosco Shipping Lines has halted shipping to Israel, Reuters reports, citing Israeli financial news outlet Globes. The decision comes as unrelenting Houthi attacks push major carriers to suspend transits in the Red Sea. Cosco officials in Israel did not comment on the report and Israeli port officials said they were looking into the update.
The decision is a major blow to Israel: Cosco will affect its partnership with Israeli shipping line ZIM, pushing ZIM to devote more of its ships to East Asian routes and increase shipping costs due to a shortage of vessels, the Israeli news outlet writes. The decision will also affect Haifa’s port, which is operated by China’s state-owned port operator SIPG. Haifa is dependent on visits from Cosco vessels, the outlet said, and will accordingly see its turnover fall.
Disruptions in the Red Sea have caused shipping volumes in the Suez Canal to drop 28% y-o-y for the week ending Sunday, according to tracking by the International Monetary Fund’s PortWatch platform. Journeys are Africa’s Cape of Good Hope saw a 63% y-o-y boost for the same period, PortWatch data showed. The trend is attributed to global carriers rerouting traffic away from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope, with the diversion entailing higher shipping costs and longer transit times.
Pakistan bolsters its naval presence in the region: Pakistan has deployed additional ships to the Arabian Sea to establish a continuous presence in the sea lane in response to recent attacks in the region, according to a Pakistan Navy statement (watch, runtime 00:33). The navy will maintain 2-3 ships in the Arabian Sea to patrol avenues used by Pakistan-bound and international shipping, the statement said.Pakistan’s new presence follows a 26 December Houthi-led attack against an MSC vessel en route to Karachi, Pakistan from KSA, according to a company statement.
MORE DISRUPTION IN EUROPE- EU sanctions on Iran’s Central ins. have seen Iranian truck drivers stuck at EU borders — with the exception of Italy — due to visa issues, Iran International reports, citing comments by Transportation Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce head Reza Rostami. This will result in longer waiting times at borders, hindering the movement of goods, Rostami added.
AND FURTHER AFIELD IN AUSTRALIA-DP World has put its foot down following more industrial action: The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has called for another round of strikes at DP World’s terminals in Australia, with DP World responding that it will no longer tolerate partial work bans at its facilities, Daily Cargo News reported. DP World Australia has warned that employees taking part in partial work banks will not be entitled to payment until they are ready and willing to perform “all of their normal duties,” according to a letter sent to customers that was picked up by Daily Cargo News.
The labor dispute has been ongoing for months, costing USD bns: Strikes have been ongoing since October 2023, following the collapse of negotiations for a new enterprise agreement. The “ongoing industrial action threatens to severely damage trade-reliant industries across the country,” DP World told customers in its letter, with disruptions costing the company some USD 84 mn a week, or USD 1.34 bn since industrial action began, the company said.
DP World is urging Australia’s government to intervene: The company hashighlighted the risk of ongoing strikes to the country’s export-oriented industries. “Ongoing industrial action threatens to severely damage trade-reliant industries across the country” DP World said in a statement. DP World has also called on affected industries to make protests to parliamentarians, in a bid to leverage political pressure against MUA’s strikes.
IN OTHER NEWS- A cyberattack hits Beirut’s airport: Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport’s electronic departure screens were hacked on Sunday evening, displaying a message urging Lebanon’s Hezbollah group not to drag the country into war, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported. The disruption affected baggage claims at the airport, NNA said.
Not cool, Lebanon says: “Hacking the electronic boards at Rafic Hariri International Airport is reprehensible and unacceptable, and constitutes a massive security breach of the airport’s security and the security and safety of passengers,” Lebanese parliamentarian Fouad Makhzoumi said.
