The factory is in negotiations with pirates to rescue the Maltese-flagged 41,607dwt Ruen, which was bound for the Turkish port of Gemlik on 13 December. According to market sources, the vessel is carrying around 40,000 tonnes of steel coil for several buyers, including a pipe maker and an automobile manufacturer.
According to ship tracking software, the vessel entered the Gulf of Aden/Southern Red Sea risk zone on 15 December and has been off the coast of Somalia since 18 December.
"We are working closely with the relevant authorities on this matter and are unable to comment further at this time," a spokesman for West of England Insurance Services, which insures the vessel, said.
Factory sources in Turkiye said the seizure of the vessel could disrupt shipments from Asia to the region and support steel coil prices. Traders and Turkish buyers suggested that shipowners and charterers may avoid the Red Sea/Suez Canal route in favour of the much longer and costlier alternative of rounding the Cape of Good Hope to the east coast of Africa. This will also affect the costs of voyages to the Mediterranean region. According to some estimates, this would result in a transit time of 35 days.
While shipping via the Red Sea/Suez Canal route is already complicated by recent attacks on container ships, some carriers have recently announced that they will also go round the Cape of Good Hope, increasing costs and lengthening transit time. A trader said that some mills will stop selling on cfr basis, leaving the risk to buyers.
A buyer of Asian slab in Turkiye said that this could increase costs by around $25-30/t. There is also a risk of delayed shipments from EU buyers seeking to fill their 1 January quotas.
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