Yemen Monitor/Marib/Exclusive:
Salalah Port in Oman has recorded a 16% decline in container volume in the first half of the year as ships reroute around the southern tip of Africa to avoid missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The port, which is closest to the Omani border with Yemen, handled 1.679 million TEUs in the six months to June 30, compared with 1.999 million TEUs in the previous year, according to Reuters
Shipping lines avoiding the Red Sea region bypass the route on which Salalah is located, said Dean Davison, head of maritime consulting at Infrata.
Missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea since October by Houthi militants in Yemen, who say they are in solidarity with Palestinians facing brutal aggression from the Israeli occupation, have forced shipping companies to reroute vessels away from the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
Salalah Port expects container volumes to continue declining for at least the rest of the year if the crisis remains unsolved. The port operator added that it does not expect the disturbances to ease soon.
Volumes at the port’s general cargo terminal increased by 4% to 11.655 million tons in the first half of the year, driven by higher demand for gypsum and limestone exports, according to the port operator.
On Thursday, Dubai-based DP World announced that its semi-annual profits had fallen by nearly 60%, partly due to ongoing attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, according to the Associated Press.
