INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes and prices in
response to maritime attacks by Yemen&s Iran-aligned Houthis on the world&s main East-West trade route.Attacks in recent days on ships in
the major Red Sea shipping route have raised the specter of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of
the COVID pandemic, and prompted a United States -led international force to patrol waters near Yemen, Reuters reported.The Red Sea is
linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, which creates the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia
About 12% of world shipping traffic transits the canal.Major shippers including Hapag Lloyd (HLAG.DE), MSC and Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), oil
major BP (BP.L) and oil tanker group Frontline (FRO.OL) have said they will be avoiding the Red Sea route and re-routing via southern
Africa&s Cape of Good Hope.But many ships are still plying the waterway
Several ships underway have armed guards on board, LSEG data showed.At least 11 container ships which had passed through Suez and were
approaching Yemen carrying consumer goods and grains bound for countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, are now
anchored in the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, LSEG shiptracking data showed.Four MSC container ships in the Red Sea have had their
transponders turned off since Dec
17, the data showed, likely to avoid detection.Some vessels are attempting to mask their positions by pinging on other locations, as a
safety precaution when entering the Yemen coastline, said Ioannis Papadimitriou, senior freight analyst at Vortexa.Denmark&s Maersk on
Friday paused all container shipments through the Red Sea following a &near-miss incident& involving its vessel Maersk Gibraltar a day
A number of the ships at anchor in the Red Sea are Maersk vessels, LSEG data showed.On Tuesday it said vessels previously paused and due to
sail through the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden would be rerouted around Africa.The Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting
Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, have waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes
and even firing drones and missiles at Israel, more than 1,000 miles from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.Houthis attacked two commercial shipping
vessels in the southern Red Sea on Monday.Industry sources say the impact on global trade will depend on how long the crisis persists, but
insurance premiums and longer routes would be immediate burdens.Vortexa&s Papadimitriou on Tuesday said the price of a Suezmax to carry
crude from the Middle East to Europe has risen 25% in a week.The disruption to energy flows in the Red Sea is unlikely to have large effects
on crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, as vessels can be redirected.We do estimate that a
hypothetical prolonged redirection of all 7 million barrels per day of gross (Northbound and Southbound) oil flows would raise spot crude
prices relative to long-dated prices by $3-4/per barrelThe post Shippers mask positions, weigh options amid Red Sea attacks first appeared