Delays to kick in with vessels on return from Europe

Delays will be the order of things to come as vessels coming back from Europe and the West will be slow to come back and this should kick in any moment now, analysts said.

Shipping industry sources told the Business Times that delays on vessels coming from Europe and the West should start any moment now and the delays on vessels going from the Far East to Europe will start to kick in within about two weeks' time.

The already high freight rates are expected to increase further as space on vessels becomes tight due to the rush of cargo being shipped out ahead of the Chinese New Year season in February. As a result currently there is a huge rush of export volumes from China, it was noted.

It was also pointed out that if shipping lines have vessels idle those will start reintroducing vessels to the services due to the huge demand for services and capitalise on high freight rates due to growing demand.

Exports are getting impacted with a two week delay in sending stocks to Europe, industry analysts point out.

Moreover, it was noted that the total cost will further go up due to increase in freight rates and the increase in air freight rates as well due to the growing demand.

The Red Sea main trade route has been abandoned by some of the largest shipping lines in the world due to the ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial vessels.

This is expected to result in increased product prices as 30 per cent of global container shipping volumes and 10-15 per cent of world trade is impacted.