Red Sea ships attacks push 47% more crude oil, fuels around Africa
GLOBAL crude oil and oil products shipments taking the long route between Asia, the Middle East and the West are up 47% since attacks began on vessels using the shorter Red Sea route, the Energy Information Administration said. The longer route around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid attacks by Yemen's Houthis has pushed up shipping costs, as about 12% of world total shipping traffic historically sailed through the Red Sea and Egypt's Suez Canal. About 8.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products took the Southern Africa route in the first five months of 2024, from an…