Red Sea traffic remains 60% lower than normal volumes

12 June 2025 Lloyd's List

Traffic through the Red Sea chokepoints remains a far cry from normal levels, with last month’s US-Houthi ceasefire doing little to encourage owners and operators that have rerouted to resume transits.

In May, there were 971 passings of cargo-carrying vessels of more than 10,000 dwt — those most likely to be internationally trading — through the Bab el Mandeb, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. This is equivalent to 65.5m dwt.

There were 891 transits through the Suez Canal last month, or 67.9m dwt in tonnage terms. These transit volumes are within the “new normal” range and 60% lower than pre-Houthi attack levels.

Source: Lloyd's List Intelligence

That is not to say there has been no return to the beleaguered shipping lane over the past several months.

Owners and operators started reviewing their stance on Bab el Mandeb transits after the now defunct ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was implemented in January.

This includes large companies that had been diverting from the area since the start of the crisis.

Egypt has been trying to persuade shipping lines that have been reluctant to restart Red Sea voyages that safe navigation through the Red Sea is possible and, in a bid to boost traffic, the Suez Canal Authority is offering a 15% discount in transit fees for containerships.

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