Global Scans · Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

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In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

• Production is expected to strengthen in the second half of the year, with the second half of 2024 expected to represent approximately 60% of annual production as waste stripping at Rainy River is sequenced in the first half of the year. MarketScreener
• Attacks by the Houthi militia in Yemen on cargo ships in the Red Sea traveling through the Suez Canal now present the greatest threat to Ukrainian maritime commerce with East Africa and Asia. Forbes
• Container shipping overcapacity would hit profits more than expected in 2024 and that it did not see a major boost from the jump in freight rates due to Red Sea disruptions, hammering its shares. Yahoo Finance
• The conflict in Ukraine has disrupted some road and rail routes between Asia and Europe, while simmering tensions in the China Sea could put cause problems for more global routes in the future. SupplyChains Magazine
• In Yemen the Houthi rebel group has used cheap Iranian guidance kits to build anti-ship missiles that are posing a deadly threat to commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The Economist
• The leader of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement has deplored US plans to consolidate its military, political and economic hegemony in the West Asia region, vowing that attacks in the Red Sea will continue until the US-Israeli war on Gaza stops. AhlulBayt News Agency
• Attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa - while stoking fears the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the wider Middle East. Sky News
• The dangers to shipping using the sea routes have forced many vessels travelling between Asia and Europe to divert around the southern tip of Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, increasing costs and lengthening delivery times. Kent Online
• Retailers have been battling with supply disruption as attacks on cargo ships by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea since November have delayed stock deliveries and forced many vessels to reroute around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. Retail Gazette
• Fears over the potential economic effects of disruptions of global trade through the Red Sea and rising tensions in the Middle East have caused oil prices to reach $80. Eurasia Review
• Supply-chain pressures could bring challenges, given the recent droughts affecting the Panama Canal, the impact of El Nino weather patterns and attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Fixed Income News Australia
• Asia's naphtha markets extended gains on Tuesday as supply disruption fears on the Red Sea route due to tensions in the Middle East continued to support prices. TradingView
• The use of low-cost missile and unmanned systems to hold at risk naval platforms in the Black Sea is a model for disrupting naval forces in an archipelagic region like South-East Asia (and is presently being demonstrated off Yemen's coastline). The Strategist
• Leaders in Beijing might have thought that their ties to Iran immunized China's global shipping conglomerates and its economy more generally from attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement on global shipping through the Red Sea. The Soufan Center
• The current climate of shipping lanes and logistics, particularly affected by events in the Red Sea, presents several significant disruptions and adjustments within the global trade and transportation sectors. MultiModal UK
• HOCHTIEF's North American civil engineering subsidiary Flatiron has won two major contracts worth a total of USD 350 million for projects to combat storm surges, rising sea levels and other environmental threats resulting from climate change. MarketScreener
• The Houthis' attacks have led shipping companies to reroute their vessels from the Red Sea, sending them around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope - a much longer, costlier and less efficient passage. The Guardian
• On the supply side, there is a risk of reduced oil exports from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries that use the Red Sea route to ship their oil to Europe and Asia. Viswa Group
• The disruptions in the Red Sea have led to a threefold increase in ocean freight spot rates from Asia to Europe, although air cargo rates remained relatively stable globally. Alibaba.com Reads
• Tankers carrying Russian oil have continued sailing through the Red Sea largely uninterrupted by Houthi attacks on shipping and face lower risks than competitors. Unofficial Networks LLC
• Media linked to the Lebanon-based Shiite Islamist party and militant group Hezbollah appear to be behind a social media drive to hype the threat of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacks in the Red Sea. Voice of America (VOA News)
• As previously reported, various global container shipping lines have stated that they will pause all vessels bound for the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, with Maersk saying its vessels due to transit the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future. Logistics Management
• U.S. ports, particularly on the West Coast, could see a surge in cargo volumes in the coming weeks as shippers re-route cargo to avoid Red Sea disruption from Houthi attacks on shipping. Unofficial Networks LLC

Last updated: 11 February 2024