Crisis in the Red Sea reshapes the Mediterranean shipping landscape
Tensions in the Red Sea have sparked a realignment of major transshipment routes around the Gulf of Aden. Ports such as Valencia, Algeciras, Barcelona, and Tangier are now focal points as global operators reroute goods between Asia and the Mediterranean, bypassing southern Africa to sidestep attacks linked to the Houthis. Leading lines including MSC, Cosco, CMA CGM, and Maersk are directing cargo transfers to the Grao facility, with the first waves of South Africabound ships arriving at its docks last week. The shift eases onward distribution to smaller Mediterranean destinations and creates a more centralized distribution corridor.
Algeciras, Barcelona, and Tangier Med are boosting capacity to accommodate more passenger traffic within their container terminals. The rapid shift away from the Red Sea has been embraced by around twenty shipping firms that chose to bypass the perilous waters, and the impact has been swift and measurable.
Crisis in the Red Sea: safeguarding sea lanes while assessing regional stability
Valencia Port Authority officials highlight that concentrating traffic at the Grao docks supports a strategic distribution model that feeds the broader Mediterranean region. Delays of up to roughly 12 days are being offset by rerouting through South Africa instead of passing through the Suez Canal. The authority anticipates a growing trend toward concentrating transshipment container traffic at Valenciaport in the weeks ahead.
In the agency’s view, carriers that previously conducted multiple loading and unloading operations across the Mediterranean will streamline activities at Valenciaport to support distribution across the wider basin.
Compensating for delays
This approach is helping to recover up to 12 days of potential delays for traffic moving along the African periphery. Since the crisis began, ongoing dialogue with shipping firms has guided port services to adapt to evolving needs. The organizers stress continued communication with the world’s leading carriers to sustain efficiency in handling foreign trade, as reported by the management council led by Mar Chao.
Sources from the port indicate that European carriers are prioritizing Tanger Med, followed by Algeciras, València, Malta, and Gioia Tauro in Italy. They have largely avoided routes that go further east into the Mediterranean beyond Piraeus or Port Said.
MSC, set to operate the new mega terminal at Grao as part of the northern expansion, announced plans to raise freight rates between the Western Mediterranean and Asia to about 5,000 dollars per twenty-foot equivalent unit and 7,100 dollars per forty-foot containers. This marks roughly a 40 percent rise compared with rates from a year and a half ago when market tensions had subsided after the peaks seen during the pandemic. The Port of Valencia also reported a second consecutive month of higher export freight activity, according to the latest VCFI indicator. [Citation: Valencia Port Authority, 2024]