from Hacker News

Christmas deliveries at risk as shipping giant suspends Red Sea journeys

by exar0815 on 12/16/23, 5:23 PM with 8 comments

  • by myself248 on 12/16/23, 6:26 PM

    The front page of GCaptain is all over this. Attacks in the Red Sea, a suspected hijacking (breaking news, still being confirmed) in the Gulf of Aden, and a hijacking/boarding further into the Indian ocean just beyond.

    It's looking like a pretty hazardous route right now, and it says something that the shipping companies are looking to avoid it. Longer routes cost more in fuel, missed delivery timelines, and fewer trips per ship per year, all of which hits the bottom line pretty hard. For that to be worth it, they must assess the risk pretty highly.

  • by PUSH_AX on 12/16/23, 8:11 PM

    I’m no shipping expert, but if something is still on a boat today, even under optimal circumstances is it plausible the goods would be in the hands of consumers before Christmas?

  • by gottorf on 12/16/23, 6:35 PM

    It sounds like the USN and Royal Navy have been busy shooting down the drones that the Houthi militants have been using to target commercial shipping[0]. A major part of why the US dollar is the world's reserve currency.

    [0]: https://apnews.com/article/royal-navy-shot-down-drone-red-se...

  • by hef19898 on 12/16/23, 6:00 PM

    Well, whatever goods haven't passed the Suez canal by now won't be anywhere before Christmas anyway...