World News
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Reroutes Ships Around Africa After Red Sea Attacks
Wallenius Wilhelmsen has joined the growing list of companies avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal after recent attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
The company is rerouting all vessels planned for Red Sea traffic to voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa instead, it said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
"The safety of our people is our number one priority," CEO Lasse Kristoffersen said in the notice.
"As a result of the current security situation in the southern parts of the Red Sea, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has until further notice decided to reroute all vessels to avoid the area.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely and stay in direct consultation with authorities, industry bodies and all relevant counterparts,"
The company has already diverted several vessels, and at present has no more ships in the area, it said.
"The company is in close dialogue with affected customers and stakeholders on changes to schedules," Wilhelmsen said.
"The rerouting is expected to add between one to two weeks to voyage durations."
Several other leading shipping firms have made similar decisions over the past few days after attacks from Yemen's Houthi movement became more indiscriminate. A mass rerouting around Africa rather than using the Suez Canal would be likely to deliver a noticeable boost to global bunker demand.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 625.00 | 9.00 | 732.00 | 15.00 |
| Rotterdam | 577.50 | 3.50 | 739.50 | 1.00 |
| Houston | 595.00 | 0.50 | 767.00 | 4.50 |
| Fujairah | 628.50 | 4.00 | 878.50 | 11.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 645.50 | 0.50 | 827.00 | 5.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 606.50 | 0.50 | 779.50 | 0.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 703.50 | 4.00 | 886.00 | 6.00 |
Popular Now More
-
May 03The new hire had previously worked for Toyota Tsusho Petroleum Pte Ltd since 2015. -
May 02Tracy Palm, group HR director at Monjasa, sets out the case for the bunker industry increasing its traineeship programmes. -
May 01Hapag-Lloyd's head of green fuels cites lack of production capacity and feedstocks as key barriers to wider uptake of biofuels in shipping.