More of the world's big shipping firms are quietly diverting their fleets via South Africa's Cape of Good Hope instead of risking Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Reuters reported.
Rob Lomas secretary general of Intercargo, an industry group representing ship owners hauling dry commodities, said more firms were avoiding Suez, an extraordinary move in peace time.
At least three big shipping companies, the world's largest tug operator Svitzer, Norwegian chemical tanker group Odfjell, and a large Liquefied Petroleum Gas operator have already publicly stated they are avoiding Suez.
Container ship operators too are weighing up their options.
The US navy said pirates had taken the Saudi Sirius Star supertanker, taken at the weekend and laden with more than US$100 million worth of oil, to Haradheere port half-way up Somalia's long coastline.
CargonewsAsia
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