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After the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, some of the larger carries like Maersk announced they would sail around Africa and avoid the Suez canal. One of the reports I saw stated that insurance, at the time, on cargo ships had gone from 1% of cargo to 2% for non-israeli ships. Some people saw this as a move by Maersk, which had overbought containerships during the pandemic, to try to artificially raise rates by conjuring up a reason to avoid the Suez. After the US and others announced they were sending patrol ships, thing appeared to go back to normal, but now Maersk says they are avoiding the Suez again after the latest attack and the fact that Iran is sending what they call a destroyer (but is more likely what other people would consider a Frigate or possibly even a Corvette). https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/oil-prices-rise-as-iranian-warship-enters-red-sea-.html What I find interesting is that 1% -> 2% insurance isn't a huge deal, but now that the west and the houthis and now Iran are sending ships to the region, maybe insurance companies can argue that it's a war zone and deny insurance claims altogether. Then that would dry up shipping even faster than the piracy issue. Talk about the law of unintended consequences: you send warships to make ships feel safe, but your warships are responded to by more warships and now the shippers want to avoid it because they will eat the loss if the insurers use your warships as an excuse. Anyway, thought this might deserve it's own post. Moving around Africa to Europe adds from 2 weeks to 21 days depending on the speed of the ship and since about 1/4 of ocean freight goes through this canal, it should have a big effect on shipping rates. Anyone want to chime in?