Shipping concerns in Bab al-Mandab began since the Houthis took control of a ship belonging to an Israeli businessman (Getty Images)

German shipping company Hapag Lloyd said it would reroute 25 of its vessels until the end of this year to avoid sailing in the Red Sea.

A spokesman for the company told Reuters: "We will reroute about 25 vessels until the end of 2023, and further decisions will be made at the end of the year."

The German company's decision came after a succession of attacks by the Houthi Ansar Allah group against ships the group says are linked to Israel.

The group vowed to target ships owned or operated by Israeli companies in solidarity with Palestine and called on countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of these ships.

The spokesman said a company ship was attacked near Yemen on December 15 en route to Singapore.

Besides Hapag Lloyd, ships belonging to other operators, including rival companies Maersk and MSC, have also been attacked.

Houthi attacks on Israel-linked ships have been the reason for the rerouting of ships from the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the Cape of Good Hope, which increases sailing by up to two weeks, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority announced last Sunday that 55 ships have diverted through the Cape of Good Hope, instead of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, since November 19, when the Houthis took control of a ship belonging to an Israeli businessman.

About 40% of global seaborne trade passes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Shipping prices and shipping company shares have risen as ships change course, meaning much of East-West trade will incur more costs given that ships will have to sail around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope.

Shipping rates to Israel from various Chinese ports had risen to more than $2300,40 per 12-foot container by Dec. 1975, from $<>,<> at the end of November.

Shipping routes around the Cape of Good Hope are much longer—about 7000,10 nautical miles and 14-<> days—than in the Suez Canal, and these routes also incur higher fuel costs.

Since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, rates of transoceanic transportation fees from China to Israeli ports have increased by 46%.

Source: Agencies