Oman's Salalah port reported a 16% decline in container volumes in the first half of the year as ships reroute around the southern tip of Africa to avoid missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea.
The port, which is Oman's closest to the border with Yemen, handled 1.679 million shipping containers in the six months to June 30, compared with 1.999 million a year earlier, Salalah Port Services Co said on Thursday.
Shipping lines that are avoiding the Red Sea area bypass the route where Salalah is located, Dean Davison, head of maritime advisory for Infrata, said.
Missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea since October by Yemen's Houthi militants, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war, have forced many ocean freight firms to reroute vessels away from the Suez Canal to around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa.
Salalah port expects container volumes to continue to fall for at least the rest of the year if the crisis remains unresolved. The port operator added that it does not expect the disruptions to ease soon.
Volumes at the port's general cargo terminal rose 4% to 11.655 million tons in the first half of the year, driven by higher demand for gypsum and limestone exports, according to the port operator.
"In the scheme of things, it's not such a bad result in exceptionally challenging market conditions," said Eleanor Hadland, senior analyst, ports and terminals at Drewry.
On Thursday, Dubai-owned ports and logistics company DP World reported a 59% drop in first-half profit, hurt by the shipping disruptions.
(Reuters - Reporting by Catherine Cartier; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)