Singapore’s port, already one of the busiest in the world, is facing a prolonged period of congestion as ship diversions to avoid the Red Sea push more and more container ships towards the Asian maritime hub.
Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have led to shipowners choosing not to sail through the Suez Canal and taking the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. That means they won’t get a chance to refuel or offload cargo at Middle Eastern ports, worsening the maritime standoff in the waters around Singapore.
The Houthi attacks have reverberated across global supply chains, but the impact is especially acute in Singapore, located on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes connecting Europe and the Middle East to China. The growing gridlock at the port, a major center for refueling and container redistribution, will result in delays in the delivery of goods and will also put greater upward pressure on shipping rates.
