Port congestion at some of Asia's busiest trading hubs is likely to continue until at least August as more ships are having to avoid the region's most congested sea gateways, causing bottlenecks at other ports as well. At the same time, the Red Sea crisis is still no sign of stopping, according to relevant statistics, the number of maritime attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi armed forces on merchant ships last month hit the highest level in the year.

    The Port of Singapore is the world's second largest container port and one of the busiest shipping hubs connecting Europe, the Middle East and China.

    And as we've reported many times before, there have been longer than usual lines of ships waiting for berths around the Port of Singapore in the past few weeks. One of the main reasons: Ships sailing long distances around Africa to and from Europe are making fewer stops at other ports to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and more cargo is being processed through Singapore.

    For now, congestion in Singapore has eased, according to Tan Hua Joo, market analyst at Linerlytica, "but only because ships are cancelling calls at the port." "Some vessels have been diverted to Port Klang and Tanjong Parapas in Malaysia, which has shifted some of the congestion there," he said in an email.

    "Overall, the congestion problem has eased slightly since mid-June, but it will take at least another month to resolve," he said.

    According to Linerlytica, Asian ports are still the most congested areas for shipping traffic globally. Of the world's idle container capacity waiting to dock, 23% is in Southeast Asia, 20% in the Middle East and 11% in the Indian subcontinent.

    Apart from the Port of Singapore, Malaysia's Port Klang is also struggling to cope with an increase in the number of ships arriving.

    According to data released on Tuesday by Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container shipping company, the waiting time for berths at Port Klang has been as long as five days, more than double the waiting time announced on June 12.

    Linerlytica's data also shows that ships attempting to travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka, or Dubai will face delays of up to three days.

    The crisis in the Red Sea is unlikely to abate

    It is worth mentioning that Yemen's Houthi forces launched the highest number of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region so far in 2024 in June, apparently proving once again that the threat to the global maritime market may be difficult to quickly defuse.

    According to figures released by navies operating in the region, there were 16 confirmed attacks on ships in June. That's the highest number of attacks in a single month since 2024, and the last time that many ships were attacked was in December.

    Other data published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy show similar trends.

    Houthi attacks, which had shown signs of abating in previous months, spiked again in June. The incidents included the second confirmed sinking of a ship and the first time the Houthis claimed to have attacked a cargo ship with a homegrown hypersonic missile. As more ships have to circumnavigate Africa, the attacks are driving the second largest increase in global maritime traffic on record.

    A previous World Bank report showed that by the end of March 2024, sea traffic through the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait had halved, while traffic through the Cape of Good Hope had doubled.

    Shipping giant Maersk also said on Monday that the coming months will be challenging for shipping companies and businesses, as the disruption of container traffic via the Red Sea will continue until the third quarter of this year. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc stressed that Maersk would only return to the Red Sea route if the safety of seafarers, ships and cargo could be assured.