Tanker traffic hits pandemic levels on Suez

SUEZ Canal tanker traffic has slumped to levels last seen during the pandemic as Houthi attacks disrupt deliveries of oil and petrol.

Just 14 tankers per day passed through in the week to Jan 15, down by 34pc since mid-December, after the Red Sea conflict triggered widespread shipping diversions.

This was the lowest level since May 2022, according to data from analysts at Kpler, when the war in Ukraine triggered a surge in through traffic as Europe began importing more energy supplies from the Middle East and Russia started sending oil to India and China.

Shell, QatarEnergy and BP are among a wave of energy and tanker companies to suspend transits through the Red Sea indefinitely following attacks by Iran-backed rebels on commercial ships travelling past Yemen.

The assaults ramped up in mid-December and have triggered retaliatory missile strikes from the US and UK.

Initially the attacks were mostly a problem for container ships, but ever more tankers carrying oil, gas, petrol and jet fuel are being forced to consider rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds about two weeks to their journey times.

Trade in petroleum products has been most disrupted. So far this year, the number of tankers carrying oil products through the Red Sea has dropped by nearly a half. Just 37 large tankers were travelling in the Red Sea on a daily basis in the week to Jan 14, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

This was 49pc lower than the last week of 2023, before the military escalations began, and down by 57pc from before the Houthi attacks ramped up.

Crude oil tanker traffic has slumped by 33pc since mid-December.

Matthew Wright, a freight analyst at Kpler, warned of an increased risk of oil spills not only because of missiles but because vessels are turning off so-called AIS signalling systems to travel incognito.

The shipping industry is bracing for a wave of legal fights as more and more deliveries get delayed.

Gerard Hopkins, honorary secretary to the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, said: “There is effectively a big standoff going on at the moment, which is being conducted largely in private between the parties and their lawyers, as they fight about who bears the financial consequences.”

Taking the decision to avoid the Red Sea and reroute means that many tankers will have breached their charter contracts, so they could be liable to pay millions in damages.

Each contractual dispute can be worth £2m to £5m, Mr Hopkins said.