Greek shipping boss says Red Sea may cause fresh rate spike

Container and commodity shipping rates likely will rally in coming months if disruptions continue because of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis said Tuesday.

The tensions haven’t shown up in earnings yet, but the prolonged impact of sailing thousands of extra miles around the tip of Africa likely will bite in the second half, Marinakis said at the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum in Athens.

“This is building up and building up and, in my opinion, in two or three months time, as long as this continues, we will see a tighter market,” Marinakis said. “Very soon, the vessels that are available will not be able to fulfill demand.”

For months, ships have been avoiding the Red Sea because militants in Yemen were firing missiles at merchant vessels — a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza. That supercharged earnings as sailing distances increased.

Shipowners have said in recent weeks they’re bracing for the disruptions to last through the rest of 2024, at least.