Ongoing Houthi attacks keep Red Sea transits reduced, Cape rerouting raises freight/insurance and hits Egypt’s Suez revenue

16 October 2026 — Continued Houthi attacks in the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb are keeping many container lines routed around the Cape of Good Hope, sustaining higher freight and war-risk insurance premia and depressing Suez Canal transits and revenues, with Egypt identified as the country hit hardest financially.

Sustained rerouting around the Cape lengthens voyage time, raises fuel and insurance costs, and ties up global shipping capacity — effects that exacerbate import bills and weaken short-term external balances for net importers like Egypt. Higher freight and insurance costs can pressure near-term current account financing needs and government revenue flows from the canal; market spread moves would be conditional on funding-grade and FX dynamics rather than the routing alone.

Watch for a recorded return of major container alliances to the Suez route or an announced ceasefire halting attacks on shipping.