In 4 months of Red Sea crisis, weekly merchant traffic through the Suez Canal dropped by ~55%.
In total, nearly 300 less ships per week cross the Canal in either direction since the start of February.
By comparison, reroutings via the COGH (Cape of Good Hope) have increased in count by 98%.
Container Ships were the most heavily affected. Weekly traffic through the Suez Canal decreased by almost 80% over the past 13 weeks. The ULCS Megamax class carriers experienced a 93.9% reduction of passages.
Tankers & Gas Carriers have also avoided the Suez Canal over the past 9 weeks, with their count in Jan-Feb 2024 registering a 40.5% YoY drop. This completely reversed the increase previously seen in the aftermath of Russia‘s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Dry Bulkers traffic through the Suez Canal has been cut down to below 2022 levels, with Ultramax vessels (60K-68K MT of deadweight) being the most affected as the first week of February saw only 6 vessels of this size traverse the canal.
Source: Alphaliner
