Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea are having an increasingly profound effect on trading patterns, Clarksons Research says.
Data from the research arm of UK shipbroker Clarksons shows gas carriers and container ships are particularly affected.
It said arrivals into the Gulf of Aden have fallen sharply since mid-December as owners reroute ships.
The daily total for all vessels is now just below 1m gt, from a high of more than 3m gt in the last seven days and more than 6m gt per day in December.
Boxship arrivals have plunged 91% over the last month and now total less than 250,000 gt on a seven-day rolling average basis.
As a result, rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index from Shanghai to northern Europe stood at $3,100 per teu by mid-January, more than treble early December levels.
There has been a more limited impact on container ship charter rates, but the market is tightening, with Clarksons’ rate index up 17% since early December.
The company said there have been pronounced drops in arrivals for gas carriers, with no LNG vessels arriving in the past seven days, and LPG arrivals down 99%.
In December, LPG carrier tonnage was averaging more than 200,000 gt and LNG ships nearly 450,000 gt.
Car carrier traffic is down 86%, a heavy fall, according to Clarksons Research.
In the tanker sector, product carriers have been most affected, with Aden arrivals down 58%. Crude ships are down 28%.
Bulk carriers are down 45% over recent weeks.
Southbound Suez Canal transits have fallen 69%, with northbound crossings declining 58%.
Chemical carrier rates rising
The LR2 market has spiked in recent days and suezmax markets are also firming amid rerouting, approaching $60,000 per day.
Chemical tanker rates via the Suez Canal have jumped, with fewer owners willing to transit the region, the company said.
Freight rates for 15,000-tonne parcels have shot up to more than $120 per tonne, from $80 per tonne, in a month.
