Red Sea tensions drive up import costs
Tensions in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are forcing Bangladeshi cargo ships to take longer, costlier routes around Africa. This disruption is significantly increasing the import costs for essential goods like crude oil and fertilizer from Saudi Arabia.
Why it matters
Rising shipping costs threaten the economic stability of developing nations reliant on Middle Eastern energy and agricultural imports.
Mohammad Suman Sukanta Halder Asifur Rahman Jagaran Chakma Mohammad Suman , Sukanta Halder , Asifur Rahman , and Jagaran Chakma A crude oil tanker of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), MT Ninemia, arrived at Chattogram port from Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Carrying 1 lakh tonnes of oil, the ship sailed through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar before going around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
To avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid tensions, the detour stretched to 50 days. Besides, it cost an additional Tk 66.63 crore.
Had the vessel taken the regular route from Yanbu through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, the Indian Ocean and then to Bangladesh, the voyage from Yanbu to Chattogram would have taken around 13 to 15 days, officials said.
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