{"id":76977,"date":"2024-02-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2024\/02\/26\/red-sea-attacks-lead-to-dangerous-environmental-damage-cma-cgm-reports-first-quarterly-loss-in-four-years\/"},"modified":"2024-02-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T00:00:00","slug":"red-sea-attacks-lead-to-dangerous-environmental-damage-cma-cgm-reports-first-quarterly-loss-in-four-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2024\/02\/26\/red-sea-attacks-lead-to-dangerous-environmental-damage-cma-cgm-reports-first-quarterly-loss-in-four-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sea attacks lead to dangerous environmental damage + CMA CGM reports first quarterly loss in four years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yemen\u2019s Houthi militia has attacked a US tanker, dubbed Torm Thor, in the Gulf of Aden <\/strong>with a number of missiles,<\/strong>Reuters<\/a> reported on Saturday, citing a televised statement by the Iranian-backed group\u2019s military spokesman Yahya Sarea. US Central Command (Centcom) stated that a US warship, dubbed USS Mason, downed a missile that was presumably targeting the tanker, the newswire also said. No damages or injuries to crew were reported aboard the USS Mason or the tanker, Centcom said. <\/p>\n

US and British forces carried out more strikes against Houthi targets on Saturday<\/strong>, with the move gathering support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, Reuters<\/a> reported. The latest hits targeted underground weapon and missile storage, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter, dispersed across 8 sites in Yemen, the newswire said. The latest actions look to \u201cdisrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia,\u201d U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.<\/p>\n

C<\/strong>hina\u2019s navy has dispatched its 46th fleet for an \u201cescort mission,\u201d in the Gulf of <\/strong>Aden, <\/strong>Xinhua<\/a> reported last week. The fleet \u2014 which includes several advanced warships, replenishment vessels, officers, soldiers, special forces personnel, and helicopters \u2014 set sail from the port of Zhanjiang on Wednesday after conducting drills on responding to commercial ship hijackings, piracy, and other scenarios, Xinhua said. <\/p>\n

ICYMI-<\/strong> Last week the UK and Canada called<\/a> on China to play a larger role in deterring Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, following previous<\/a> urging by the US.<\/p>\n

Rubymar remains afloat, for now:<\/strong> A Belize-flagged cargo ship carrying 22k tonnes of fertilizer, dubbed Rubymar, remains afloat after a Houthi missile attack on Sunday<\/a> caused crew to abandon ship amid reports it was taking water, Reuters<\/a> reported on Thursday, citing industry sources. The attack on the ship has caused a 29 km long oil spill and the vessel\u2019s fertilizer cargo can cause further environmental damage if it spills into the Red Sea, Centcom reportedly said. Towing the ship to nearby Djibouti for recovery and repairs appears to be the only viable option, shipping and ins. sources said, adding that towing the ship to a destination further afield or across open waters is unsafe given the vessel\u2019s condition. <\/p>\n

Shipping companies are being warned to remain vigilant for piracy off the African <\/strong>coast,<\/strong> as Red Sea diversions bring them within easy reach of pirate groups operating out of Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea and pirate incidents see a resurgence, The Financial Times<\/a> reported on Thursday, citing statements by International Maritime Organization (IMO) secretary general Arsenio Dominguez. Dominguez has urged shippers to return to the rigorous security measures enacted during the previous piracy crisis between 2008 to 2012. The IMO is also communicating with authorities in Somalia, East Africa, and around the Gulf of Guinea to ensure that measures are taken to curb pirate activity, Dominguez added.<\/p>\n

A boom in vessel deliveries this year is set to bridge capacity gaps caused by Red Sea <\/strong>disruptions<\/strong>offering some relief to freight rates<\/strong>, The New York Times<\/a> reported on Thursday. The freight market is expected to normalize before peak shipping season in this year\u2019s third quarter, the NYT said, citing analysts. New vessels accounting for over a third of the industry\u2019s capacity are set for delivery, with most being delivered before the year is out, senior director and analyst at logistics research firm Gartner, Brian Whitlock, told the NYT. Maersk is looking to up capacity by 9%, MSC \u2014 the world\u2019s largest carrier \u2014 is set to take delivery of some 132 newbuilds, boosting capacity by 39%, while France\u2019s CMA CGM is expected to increase capacity by 24%, Whitlock said. It is \u201cjust a matter of time,\u201d until the industry\u2019s capacity shortfall is resolved, the outlet cites Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc as telling investors this month. <\/p>\n

The same cannot be said for the tanker market: <\/strong>Longer reroutes on the back of Red Sea disruptions and Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, together with a shortfall in new vessel deliveries, are yielding a capacity deficit in the tanker market that is causing freight rates to surge, Bloomberg<\/a> reported yesterday. Only two new supertankers are set to be delivered this year, the lowest delivery rate in almost 40 years and 90% lower than the per year average seen since 2000, the outlet said. \u201cThe situation is tight in the tanker market, in particular for crude oil tankers,\u201d Bloomberg cites research manager at Banchero Costa, Enrico Paglia, as saying. Low orders are continuing into next year, with only 5 supertankers set to be delivered compared to 2020\u2019s 42 deliveries, raising expectations that tanker rates may remain elevated for a while, Bloomberg said citing figures from Banchero Costa.<\/p>\n

Ship arrivals at Jordan\u2019s Aqaba Port have seen a slight but \u201cnoticeable\u201d <\/strong>improvement in February,<\/strong> head of Jordan\u2019s Logistics Syndicate Nabil Al Khatib told Al Mamlaka<\/a> on Wednesday. The improvement is attributed to carriers which had stopped services to Aqaba finding workarounds through establishing feeder routes to tranship cargoes to Aqaba via Egypt\u2019s Dumiat, KSA\u2019s Jeddah, and the UAE\u2019s Jebel Ali ports, Al Khatib said. The latest meeting of a special crisis group tasked with following the effects of Red Sea disruptions on Jordan\u2019s economy concluded with several recommendations, including reductions to customs fees and scheduled payments for taxes by importers, Al Khatib also said. <\/p>\n

CMA CGM faces first loss in four years:<\/strong> Shipping giant CMA CGM noted its first quarterly loss in four years, as Red Sea disruptions and overcapacity roil the shipping sector, Bloomberg<\/a> reported on Friday. The carrier saw a USD 90 mn loss in the last quarter of 2023, compared to a USD 3.04 bn gain seen during the same period the previous year, CMA CGM\u2019s earrings release<\/a> for 2023 showed. The company\u2019s bottomline for 2023 was down more than 85% y-o-y to USD 3.64 bn, while topline figures saw a 36.9% fall during the same period to USD 47.02 bn, with the carrier attributing the falling revenues to \u201cdeteriorating conditions in maritime shipping markets,\u201d according to the earnings release.<\/p>\n

OTHER DISRUPTION NEWS WORTH KNOWING-<\/strong><\/p>\n