Red Sea Attacks More Than Double Specific Shipping Rates

The spot rate of transporting a 40-foot container from Asia to northern Europe rose 173 percent, to $4,000, since Dec. 9, 2023, Bloomberg reported on January 4. The surge is the result of attacks by Iran-sponsored Houthi terrorists, based in Yemen, on ships passing through the Red Sea.

Other price hikes resulting from the attacks include:

• Rates for shipments from Asia to the East Coast of North America rose 55 percent (to $3,900)
• Shipments from Asia to the Mediterranean increased to $5,175
• Some major shippers have announced prices higher than $6,000

Global ramifications: The Red Sea is the world’s most important trade route. These attacks are affecting the entire globe.

No container ships were traveling to North America or Europe through the Red Sea on Wednesday. Every ship had been rerouted to go around the entire African continent, which adds up to 20 days to a voyage at a massive expense.

The push: These attacks hurt Europe more than any other region. The February 2024 Philadelphia Trumpet covers this story in detail and shows how this trend fits into Bible prophecy.

The Bible prophesies that an Iran-led “king of the south” will “push” at Europe (Daniel 11:40). Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has said this push could come from the Red Sea. In 2015, he wrote, “Now that Iran controls Yemen [through its control of the Houthis], it can virtually close or open the spigot on Middle East oil bound for Europe.”

In “The Battle for the Red Sea,” he wrote:

Disrupting Red Sea trade hurts Israel—but it is also a direct attack on Europe. After the Houthis’ brazen December 9 declaration, the world’s largest shipping companies announced they would halt delivery through the Red Sea and instead sail around South Africa to reach the West. Four of the five largest shipping companies are European: the Swiss-Italian Mediterranean Shipping Co., Danish A.P. Moller-Maersk, French shipping group cma cgm, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, which is headquartered in Hamburg.

The price surges reported this week show how the foretold push from Iran is beginning. Expect this to greatly intensify and result in the largest Middle Eastern conflict in history.

Learn more: Read Mr. Flurry’s free booklet The King of the South.