Red Sea crisis ripples: 10-15 day delays hit Barcelona port

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jan 2024 15:35

The Spanish port of Barcelona is reportedly experiencing significant delays ranging from 10 to 15 days for arriving ships.

People walk by the construction site of the first building built with shipping containers in Barcelona in 2019. (AFP/Getty Images)

Ships are facing delays of 10 to 15 days before arriving at the Spanish port of Barcelona due to the necessity of circumnavigating Africa to evade escalations in the Red Sea, as reported by the port chief, Lluis Salvado, on Monday.

These delays impact vessels transporting various goods, including liquefied natural gas. It is worth noting that Barcelona stands as one of Spain's major LNG terminals.

This comes shortly after data collected by the UK-based maritime research firm Drewry World Container Index and compiled by Andalou Agency indicated last Saturday that freight costs are still on the rise amid Ansar Allah operations against Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships in the Red Sea, in support of Palestine, and the US militarization and aggression in the region. Forecasts show that for the upcoming eight weeks, shipping costs will keep increasing.

These factors together have deterred shipping vessels, imposed lengthy reroutes, and hampered arrivals by 10 days to two weeks, accumulating shipping costs.

The Suez Canal was the chosen route for ships due to its position connecting Asia and Europe over a short distance, boosting the efficiency of costs and time, but shipping companies have opted to reroute and sail their vessels through the Cape of Good Hope, adding more costs.

Freedom of navigation

As companies rerouted their ships from crossing the Red Sea to using the Cape of Good Hope, it is worth noting that the Yemeni Armed Forces have stressed repeatedly that all ships are free and safe to make their trips as long as they are not involved in the ban. The ban includes Israeli ships, Israeli-affiliated ships, and ships heading to ports in occupied Palestine.

On that note, earlier in January, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Sanaa, Hussein al-Ezzi, responded to what he referred to as "false and misleading" narratives promoted by the US, Britain, and Germany, regarding the security of navigation in the Red Sea.

Al-Ezzi expressed that Yemen reaffirms the safety and security of navigation for all destinations except the ports of Israeli-occupied Palestine. He stressed that Sanaa aims through this limited, temporary measure to "lift the brutal siege imposed on the residents of Gaza," calling it a humanitarian duty.