China's autos take shortcut to EU markets

Ships carrying Chinese cars are using the Red Sea and Suez Canal even as other vessels still sail around Africa in fear of attacks by the Houthi militia, writes Keith Bradsher from Beijing

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Chinese automakers are shipping cars to Europe through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, nearly two years after the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen started attacking vessels in the critical Middle East transit route.

Other automakers are still shipping cars from Asia by way of a much longer, and expensive, trip around Africa.

Last month, at least 14 car-carrier ships travelled from Chinese ports to Europe through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, according to a new analysis by Lloyd's List Intelligence, a British maritime information service. About the same number made the voyage in June.

The trips have continued even after the Houthis used drones, grenades and gunfire to sink two other cargo ships early last month. The militia group says the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians living through Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Most shipping analysts assume that the Chinese government has reached an understanding with Iran or the Houthis not to harm car-carrier ships from China. It seems that "China has found a way to deal with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and they have been told that their ships will not be targeted," said Daniel Nash, associate director of valuation and analytics at Veson Nautical, another maritime data firm.

Travelling through the Red Sea and Suez Canal saves 14 to 18 days on each round trip between Asia and Europe, compared with going around Africa. This reduces costs for fuel, crews and the ships themselves by a couple hundred dollars per car.