42pc drop in Suez traffic following Huthi attacks

UNITED NATIONS, United States, Jan 26 (AFP): The volume of commercial traffic passing through the Suez Canal has fallen more than 40 percent in the last two months after attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels, according to the United Nations, raising concerns for global trade.
The Iran-backed Huthis say they were targeting what they consider Israeli-linked commercial and military shipping in the region in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, pushing some cargo carriers to take longer and more expensive routes to avoid attack.
"We are very concerned that the attacks on Red Sea shipping are adding tensions to global trade, exacerbating (existing) trade disruptions due to geopolitics and climate change," UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) head Jan Hoffman told reporters Thursday.
According to the UNCTAD, ships diverting from the Red Sea -- sailing instead around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope -- has led to a 42 percent drop in transit through the Suez Canal in the last two months.